


don’t dream it’s over

by arthursmorgan



Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical swearing, Character Death Fix, Everybody Lives, F/F, Fix-It, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, also im going to be editing all of the chapters once the story is finished, and arthur somehow survives tb, everybody except for micah, honestly? dare i say, john saved arthur from that mountain, listen up everybody lives and everybody is gay, sharing a bed is a very overused trope in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-09-19 18:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 26,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17006574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arthursmorgan/pseuds/arthursmorgan
Summary: It was John.He had come back for him.„You look like hell, brother.“Arthur only managed to answer with a low grunt, followed by a cough.„I‘m gonna get you outta here, I promise.“





	1. Chapter 1

„Arthur!“

Distant. Fading away. The blackness started to seep in again. 

Gone, carried away into the unknown again.

„Arthur! Are you there?“

Who was that voice? It sounded familiar, distorted, but familiar. Alongside the voice he heard chirping and whinnying. It was beautiful. Imagining falling asleep to this, he let go again.

„Arthur, Jesus Christ.“

Was it Dutch? No, that wouldn‘t be possible, he left. Turned and left him behind, left his family, his son, behind. What kind of father does that? 

He felt somebody grab at the hem of his shirt. Gripping onto it as if it were something precious. Hands were turning his head around, it lulled with the movement. It made him feel dizzy but he couldn‘t stop it. There wasn‘t any strength left in him to do so. He saw strands of dark, long hair through the dying daze. The face of the hair neared. And cleared.

It was John. 

He had come back for him.

„You look like hell, brother.“

Arthur only managed to answer with a low grunt, followed by a cough.

„I‘m gonna get you outta here, I promise“

Suddenly he felt light, as if he had passed on and left, then realized that he was being lifted up.

Arthur tried helping his savior with heaving him onto a tall horse, not wanting to inconvenience John too much with his heavy weight. He leaned onto the horses neck, softly holding onto its long, brown mane. He felt John hopping up onto the horse just behind him, his arms holding onto the reins, caging Arthurs form in, preventing him from falling off sideways.

Realizing that he was safe and that he didn‘t have to worry about nothing, he let the overpowering exhaustion finally take over again. The last thing he heard was a panicked gasp before he fell against the comforting neck of the horse and fell into a deep, relaxing and easy sleep.

The older man was unconscious through most of the ride, only awakening the moment the horses steady gallop slowed down into a halt and he was being lifted off of the horse by two pairs of steady hands. He let them.

When he was able to listen and not only hear again, he perceived a raspy voice saying „Fuck, did you find him like this?“

The one he had heard before replied with „Yeah, was just lying there. Was afraid he might be dead.“

„Well, we just gotta make sure that ain‘t happening now.“

Suddenly not being able to make out which voice was which and where or who he was, he faded away again, going limp in somebodys lean arms.

He awoke sometime in the middle of the night. Trying to sit up deemed almost impossible, so he settled for a deep grunt, startling the sleeping person sitting next to him on a worn down wooden chair.

Revelling in the comfort of the bed he was lying on, he decided that this could be the place he died and he would like it almost as much as the beautiful mountain view he had looked at before. Hearing a voice again made him come back to reality, realizing that he wasn‘t alone anymore. „Arthur! Ya really scared us. We thought you was dead!“

Finally, he could put the second mysterious voice to a face and name. Sadie Adler. The married woman turned widow turned outlaw. Her worried voice rang heavily in the small seemingly closed off space they were residing in. Arthur could hear the wind softly whistling in the distance. A trees branches rustled against glass, its rhythmic tapping resounding in the small space. Figuring that they were in a small hut, Arthurs weakened nerves calmed.

„Arthur?“

His mouth was dry and he was still feeling dizzy. Wanting to answer he tried to mumble „Yeah?“ but barely a sound was audible. But Sadie seemed to know what he was saying, since she replied again with „Don‘t die on me, will ya?“.

With his head clearing more and more each passing second, he finally managed to say something barely coherent „'m trying.“

„And yer ain‘t gonna stop trying, or else I will kill you myself, you hear that?“

He spoke around the driness of his mouth „Yes, ma‘am“ Still, he wasn‘t able to form more than a whisper. He coughed, the compulsions and the movement stinging painfully in his throbbing head.

„Johns out getting some herbs and somethin‘ to eat.“

If she said anything else, Arthur didn‘t hear it. He came back to when the door creaked open. The winds howling growing stronger whilst it stood agape.   
The door closed and the howls subdued, it was followed by heavy footsteps trotting towards him and Sadie, accompanied by labored breathing. John must have been rushing to get back to them.

„I, uh, found a guy. Sold me some herb called artemisia annua, said it was some chinese remedy or something. He said it may help and I ain‘t gonna turn down any help we can get.“

Arthur could hear a faint creak as Sadie turned around in her seat, most likely staring at John incredulously. Everybody knew that John wasn‘t the sharpest knofe in the kitchen but he sometimes still managed to dumbfound them. „So you just trust that guy? What if it kills him?“

„Well, yeah. 'Sides, Arthur‘s gonna die if we ain‘t finding a way to save him anyways.“ He heaved a sigh. Suppressing something else. „We gotta try, Sadie. Please.“

Sadie was distrustful but she ultimately gave in. „Well, fine. But if this is gon’ kill him, I ain‘t the one burying this sorry excuse of a man.“ She tried lightening up the situation they were in. To no avail.

„Don‘t-“ A pause. Taking a wheezing breath. „I get a say in this?“

„Arthur.“ Rushing footsteps. Somebody plopping down onto their knees next to his head. A hand on his head, stroking his hair. „How are ya feeling?“ John was always the concerned one.

Between heavy breaths he managed a „Could be better“.

John let out a low chuckle, „Yeah, you ain‘t say.“

„So you got this magical chinese herb ready now, Marston? Or do I gotta do all the work round here?“ Her voice was laced with sarcasm, even Arthur could hear that.

„Yeah, yeah, I got it, Sadie.“ He turned back to look at Arthur. „Can you sit up?“

„I‘ll try“ He did, he really did. He was able to lift himself up for about two seconds before his arms gave in again. Arthur then felt a hand snaking underneath his back and lightly shoving him up into a sitting position. Still resting his hand on Arthur back in support, John presented him a tin cup, filled with a green liquid. „Drink up, old man.“ And so he did.

It tasted horrible, bitter to the core and burned in his throat. He coughed in response, his hand flying up towards his mouth, covering it. The hand holding him up proceeded in slowly lowering him back down into a lying position.

The wind had stopped howling. The resulting silence felt deafening, even to somebody as keen to silence as Arthur.

Waking up to a cold hand on his forehead, Arthur winced, he had already been feeling bleak without it but now there was additional coldness stinging him, rushing through his entire body and sending a shiver through him. He could hear two voices lowly whispering to each other, one further away than the other. A slight rain had started up, the drops pattering against the roof of the cabin calmingly. He heard the two horses whinnying outside, complaining about the increasing rain. There was no chirping of any birds and no growling of any foxes hunting for prey.

The door opened, and the cold seeped in momentarily, before footsteps could be heard running outside. Soon after the door had closed again, the whinnying of the horses grew quieter as they were moved away and under a shelter, away from the rattling rain.

Arthur fell away again, into a low slumber, filled with dreams of the future and of what could have been. At times a dream of him dying on that mountain would sneak into his peaceful sleep again. The peacefulness wasn‘t disturbed by them.

Sadie shook him awake again a few hours later, her hand shaking his shoulder tenderly. „Wake up, time for your magic herbs,“ she said, a heavy sarcastic undertone in her deep voice.

This time, Arthur barely needed help in sitting up, feeling stronger already. For the first time, he was able to take in his surroundings. 

The cabin was fairly small and out of solid wood. It wasn‘t rich on furniture, that was the first thing he had noticed. The only few things decorating the dreary old house were a big wooden table and two seperate chairs. One of the chairs stood a bit askew, due to one of the legs being broken. It was stowed into a corner, no doubt the chair that John had been sitting in most of the time, since his voice always seemed to be so distant and quiet. Another chair stood right in front of the bed that Arthur was sitting in.   
In it sat Sadie, who patiently held up the same tin cup, filled with the same disgusting green liquid as the day before.

Arthur took it with trembling hands, swallowing it as quickly as he could, trying to taste as little of it as possible. Then he asked for something to drink and Sadie left, fetching a cup of water for him.

He stayed put, not bothering to lie back down, now that he had the strength to uphold himself again, he was going to use it. That was when he first noticed the two bedrolls on the floor. One on either side of his bed, protecting him.

Sadie came back with a small cup filled with water and handed it to Arthur, who gulped it down enthusiastically. „Thanks.“ He fumbled with the cup in his hands. Sadie had her eyes trained on them, watching his movement, whilst replying. „Nothing to thank for. You feelin‘ better?“

Taking a short while to come up with a reply, he finally answered „Surprisingly, yes.“

„So does that mean Marston has finally made the first decision in his life that wasn‘t dumb by buying that shit from some strange dealer?“ Disbelief was clear in her voice.

„Guess so,“ Arthur shrugged.

They fell into a comfortable silence. Arthur broke it by saying „So, what, uh, what happened with Dutch and Micah? You heard anything of em?“

Looking at the ground, Sadie replied with „No, we haven‘t heard nothin‘ from them. They just left, I guess. Fucking assholes.“

„Mh, yeah.“

Arthur didn‘t hate Dutch, despite everything. He took care of him for over twenty years, and made the right decisions for longer than that. Making one bad one in such a long time didn‘t make him a bad man. And Arthur knew that. Still, he didn‘t hope to stumble upon him ever again. Certainly not upon Micah.

Outside, the rhythmic pat of hooves against mud announced Johns return. Arthur didn‘t know where John had been, he didn‘t care to ask either.

John stumbled into the cabin with two rabbits in his hands, which he quickly threw onto the table. He had already skinned both of them, he had made a bad job but he had done it. He then made his way over to Sadie and Arthur, pulling the chair out of the corner with him to sit on, dragging it along the floor, resulting in an unpleasant scratching sound. Arthur winced whilst Sadie threw John a dirty look. John either didn‘t notice or just didn‘t care as he sat down, simultaneously to that, John started to speak. „Hey, uh, can I talk to you?“ Noticing that he was speaking to him, Arthur nodded curtly, answering with a quick „sure.“

John turned to Sadie and before he could open his mouth, Sadie grunted, stemmed her hands onto her knees and got up. „Yeah, yeah, I‘ll leave. I‘m gonna start a fire outside and cook these rabbits.“ Making her way towards the table, she grabbed the two rabbits by their hind legs and went towards the door.

„Thank you.“ Arthur replied, his eyes trailing behind her as she made her way outside.

Then, John turned to him, „I‘m sorry for what happened with Dutch.“

Arthur waved him off, „Ah, it‘s alright. We had to part ways sometime, didn‘t we?“

John contemplated, then sighed a quiet „Yeah.“

His tone took on a more stern note as Arthur asked „Marston, where‘s Abigail and Jack?“

A long pause. „Safe. They‘re safe.“

„You sure?“ Arthur raised an eyebrow. Then coughed. He had to lean forward, it was a bad fit this time, he hasn‘t had one like it for some time now. Afterwards, breathing hurt his lungs again, and he wheezed painfully.

„You alright?“ John was concerned, already half out of his seat.

Arthur took a few seconds to reply, steadying his breathing before doing so „Yeah. 'm fine. So they‘re safe?“

Even though John still looked to be on edge, he fully sat down again and answered „Yes, Arthur, they‘re with Charles up in the North somewhere. And as long as they‘re with Charles, they‘re safe. And he ain‘t gonna leave 'em out of sight, you and me both know that.“

It was an answer that Arthur could accept, so he let it rest „A‘ight.“

Both fell silent. The silence stretched and echoed. Not even the outside made any noise, as if it knew not to disturb. 

It got broken by John. „Listen, I‘m real glad you‘re alive.“

„Me too, Marston.“ Arthur then proceeded to lie back down, grunting softly as he did so. John stood up and tried to help him but the other man assured him that he was fine, so John let it go.

Arthur didn‘t miss Johns lingering gaze, or how his hands were still stretched out in his direction, ready to help or protect the older man. 

The door opened and John sprung back, plopping back down into his chair, laying his arm onto the armrest and leaning his chin onto his closed fist.

Arthur turned onto his side with a loud groan, facing John. But his gaze went past him and onto Sadie, who was standing in the doorway of the cabin.

„You boys hungry?“ Sadies raspy voice rang out. The fire was still lightly crackling outside, only barely audible through the opening of the door. 

After they had eaten, Sadie announced that she would be going to bed. Her justification being that she had cooked for them, so they weren‘t allowed to complain. 

Soon after, her light snoring was resounding through the house. 

Some minutes later, with Arthur already in the process of falling asleep, he felt his bed dip at his feet, making him shoot back awake and sit up.

He looked down at his feet to see John sitting there, leaning his back against the wall behind the bed.

Tiredness clouding his mind, Arthur tried to ask „What‘re ye-“

„Don‘t. Just- just let me.“ His voice sounded resignant. 

„Wh-“

Arthur was interrupted by John leaning down. The younger man patted Arthur onto his side, motioning for him to move over, so Arthur did. And John laid down next to him. The bed was fairly small, thus definitely too small for two men of their size, but John didn‘t seem to mind. He just wanted to be close to Arthur, to be reminded that he was actually there. Arthur didn‘t mind either.

Arthur turned onto his side, and so did John.   
Johns back was facing Arthur and the latter raised his arm and put it around the other man, pulling him closer towards his chest.

Johns breath hitched, Arthur noticed but didn‘t say anything about it. They both fell asleep just like that, lying in each others arms with John feeling Arthurs heartbeat against his back and with Arthur listening to Johns labored breathing.

John was the first one to wake up of the three. He quickly tried to move away from Arthur and onto his own bedroll, lest Sadie would see them. 

The tight grip that Arthur had around his waist made that task almost impossible. John tried to force the older mans arm off of him, but to no avail. It actually served exactly the opposite purpose, Arthur wrapped him in even more and tighter in response. „Oh, come on, Morgan.“ John quietly groaned.

The only response he got was a low grumble and a soft tug at his waist. 

As he tried to get out once more, Arthur finally relented, letting him groggily go. „Thank you,“ John said sarcastically.  
„Jus‘ go.“ The other answered and sleepily waved him away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur is still recovering. Sadie and John plan on robbing a bank.

Sadie and John have both gone off. Sadie was out collecting them some firewood and hunting a deer or two and John went to visit the nearest town, Clowerton, to fetch some medicine and general items that could be of use to the small group.

Sadie was the first to return, cussing under her breath as she slammed the old door shut, the sound reverberating in the whole room.

„Fucking Pinkertons saw me. I lost 'em somewhere near Echo, just hope they won‘t find us. I had to fucking drop one of the deers I had caught so we only got one now.“

„It‘s okay, as long as you‘re unharmed.“

„I‘m not injured, just pissed off.“

Arthur chuckled lowly, he was happy to have her back by his side, he had missed her. 

„Oh yeah!“ Sadie suddenly called out in realization. „Can‘t forget your little remedy now, can we?“ 

The man groaned loudly, making his friend laugh wholeheartedly.

„Man, I love this.“ She mumbled to herself as she was preparing the green mixture.

When she was finished she poured it into a tin cup and carried it over to her bed ridden friend, making sure not to spill any of it. She then stretched out both of her arms with the cup clutched inbetween her hands for Arthur to take. 

„I don‘ think I still need this stuff.“ His body did not agree with his words, as they were closely followed by a rough coughing fit.

Sadie didn‘t say anything, she solely raised her eyebrows and continued holding out the cup in front of Arthurs face. Arthur sighed in defeat, sat up and drank all of the contents of the cup. He let out a sound of disgust as Sadie was already handing him a new cup filled with water. He nodded in thanks and downed the water in only a few big gulps.

„So when are you finally letting me get out of bed? 's starting to get uncomfortable.“

Sadie gave him a barely visible smile. „You can help me start a fire and cook the deer, if you want.“

Arthur nodded in response, smiled slightly to himself and already tried pushing himself off of the bed. His friend watched him carefully, ready to spring up and help him out if he‘d need it. 

Standing up felt freeing. His feet were still a bit wobbly and his head started to spin, but he felt better than ever in those last few days. Finally he could do something again instead of just lying around and watching his friends disappear as he worried for their lives.

„Come on, old man.“ Her voice was filled with tenderness, which was quite unusual for the blonde.

She held open the surprisingly heavy door for him and held his arm as he walked down the few steps in front of the house. 

That‘s when he stopped, just at the bottom of the stairs. Sadie gave him a confused stare, but let it go as she noticed that he was just looking at everything around them. 

Their house was stationed in a small clearing, next to it was a small shelter with a few posts underneath it to hitch their hoses on. The path away from the clearing was small and steep, so their temporary home was somewhere higher up. Surrounding them were woods, very dense woods, making it almost impossible for him to see anybody coming, or otherwise. 

It reminded him of the cabin the young widow he once helped out had lived. Who had buried her husband and wept by his grave as he had arrived. Arthur had helped her hunt a rabbit and showed her how to prepare it, additionally saving her from some hungry wolves. He wondered what ever became of that woman, he hoped she was alright.

When he noticed Sadie getting restless, he continued his short way over to the location of their campfire. The one from yesterday still visible as coals littered the small circle.

„You go sit down on that log and skin those deer for me, will ya?“ She asked in a demanding voive. 

„Yes, Ma‘am.“

He heaved out a long sigh as he sat down, enjoying the brisk wind for a few minutes before going to work. 

Just as he was halfway done with skinning the deer, he heard hooved clashing on the path. Soon after, John came riding in, going straight for the sheltered area to hitch his Rachel. Then he wandered over, saying hello to the both of them and smiling down at Arthur.

He spoke then, standing next to Arthur but not sitting down just yet. „You feelin‘ better then?“

„Yeah. That medicine you brought actually worked.“

„See? I‘m not as dumb as everyone thinks.“

„Well, you still only got the brain of a chicken, you must made a good decision. Ain‘t no correlation between the two.“ Arthur answered, his voice was, depite the words spoken, soft and appreciative.

Soon after, Sadie went back inside to collect some herbs from her satchel to season the meat and John took this opportunity to ask something that‘s been on his mind a lot recently.

„So, yesterday.“

„Hm?“ It took the older man a while to realize what John had meant. When he did, his eyebrows shot up and he let out a long „Oh.“

John didn‘t say anything else, he just let Arthur talk. He was shoving around some gravel with his feet, a few stones flying off and resulting in some far away clacking sounds.

„It‘s alright, John. We‘re brothers. Would‘ve probably done the same if I had to sleep on one of those godawful bedrolls while a bed was right next to me.“

The younger man looked at the ground, nodding slightly and answering with a quiet „Yeah, you‘re right.“

Afterwards John sat down to Arthur right, still looking down at the gravel as if it were the most interesting thing he had ever laid eyes on.

As soon as he was sitting, Arthur clapped him on the back and then took a long stick, which he used to shove around the coal in the fire that Sadie had set up.

That is when Sadie came back outside, a map and her satchel in hand. She threw her satchel onto the ground and sat next to Arthur on the log. She spread out the map on the ground, leaning down uncomfortable. John helped out by collecting four nearby stones and putting them onto each corner of the map to pin it down. 

Sadie got off of the long and hunched down next to the map, pointing her finger at an already red circles area. „This is Galileo.“

None of the men said anything, waiting for her to explain. „Since we are running out of money, we could go rob their bank. It‘s a fairly small town so not much cash to be made but it‘ll be enough for now.“ 

„When are we-“ coughing, „When are we leaving?“

„You? Not at all.“ John answered for Sadie. The two sharing a look as Arthur complained. 

„You‘re still recovering, Arthur. You are staying here.“ The man groaned silently and sat back slightly. „Fuckin‘ alright, I guess.“

„Okay, so, Marston. I have a plan-“ Arthur snorted and when Sadie looked at him full of bewilderment, he explained „Sounded like Dutch.“ She gave him a sad smile and rested one hand onto his knee.

Arthur looked over at John to see the other man quickly avert his gaze from Sadies hand on his knee. Arthur lifted his eyebrows but said nothing.

„We‘re going in, collect all the goods that the folk in there got and then I will threaten the guy to open the vault and you collect the money, understood?“ John nodded. „Good.“

„And our escape plan?“

„What do you expect? We take our shit and leave as quickly as possible before the law comes. We will ride around a few towns in case they‘re following us and then we come back here.“

„Yeah, okay.“ 

„We‘re leaving first light in the morning.“

The man nodded in agreement and then settled back in his seat on the log.

„How much money you think we‘re getting?“

„I don‘t know, maybe around a hundred bucks. What you thinking, Morgan?“

Arthur contemplated for a short while before answering „I ain‘t seen it but I guess could be fifty, could be two hundred, but no more than that.“ 

Sadie and John both nodded along his words, the three soon falling into a comfortable silence. 

Questions were still lingering, they all felt that. Not only about the robbery, but more. 

Sadie got up to see if the meat was ready yet. And it was, as she came back over with three big pieces of meat and handed two over to her friends.

The silence lingered on as they ate. Only being broken by thanking words. 

The horses whinnied softly, as if they were talking to each other. The fire crackled in front of them, red embers illuminating its surroundings in a soft red hue. The wind blew, whistled soundly through the trees, the leaves rustling against each other. The woods were singing. And everything was okay for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, friends
> 
> im really glad that people actually seem to enjoy this!
> 
> also, constructive criticism is always appreciated! 
> 
> and im sorry if the english isnt really good sometimes, im not a native speaker.
> 
> freack out about rdr2 with me on tumblr @/johmarston


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur tries to go hunting while John and Sadie are gone, it proves to be fairly difficult.

The next morning Arthur woke up to an empty cabin. Empty except for him. His two companions had already to execute their plan. With nobody telling him to rest now, Arthur slowly lifted himself up off the bed, making a short pause to breathe before standing up fully. 

He cast a quick look over the cabin in search for his hat and when he found it he happily staggered over to collect it and put it onto his head.

Arthur scanned the small space again in search for any kind of weapons the pair may have left behind. After not too long of looking, he spotted a bow underneath the table with five arrows lying next to it. He slowly crouched down and picked up one of the arrows, examining it, looking if they were still sharp of if he’d need to sharped them before going out. 

Deeming the arrows as sufficient, he packed them up and slung the arrow over his shoulder. He wandered outside to hear the rustling of the leaves as an animal got startled by the loud creak of the door and ran off into the safety of the woods. He hummed to himself and went to whistle for his beloved Ares when he realized that she had passed away and slowly lowered his hand back down to his side.

The wind had momentarily stilled, a moment of silence for the cowboy. When it begun again, it came back with a certain vigor, blowing at Arthurs back, motioning for him to move on and go. 

And so he did.

He made his way into the dense woods, hearing crickets chirping, seeing rays of the sun shimmering through the many leaves of trees. He spotted a stag, standing proudly in a clearing, illuminated by the orange light of the morning filtering through the tree tops. Arthur looked at it in reverence, before drawing his bow and getting ready to shoot. He quietly thanked the stag and drew back the arrow- and coughed. 

The coughing startled the stag, which then promptly fled, making Arthur cuss between coughs. He covered his hand with his mouth and upon pulling it back he noticed blood on it. „Oh, fucking-“ 

The coughing made his knees tremble. He had to lean against one of the nearby trees. He felt weaker by the second. It didn‘t stop, his lungs were burning, every breath he took felt like it could be his last. Wheezing. Desperate. He heard rabbits springing about, making a big circle around him, knowing that there was danger. And the danger was announcing itself. He leaned his back against the tree and noticed a deer watching him. It ducked its head, as if bowing down to him, and then it leaped away, leaving him alone again. 

His knees finally gave in and he slumped down against the tree. The crickets were chirping a faint tune. He fell asleep while listening to it.

 

Next thing he knew, it was dark, and there was yelling. His name? The voices were yelling his name, possibly looking for him. Arthur was disoriented, he didn‘t know where he was and what he had been doing there. Who were the people searching for him? Was it Dutch, coming to rescue him? Or Hosea? Javier?

Before he was able to figure out who the beautiful and frantic voice belonged to, he blacked out again.

„Arthur!“ There it was again. That alluring voice. He would love to get to know the person who the beautiful voice belonged to. 

Something was touching his face, he tried swatting it away but his arm didn‘t lift. The thing touching him persisted. Now it gripped the hem of his shirt, shaking him, calling out for him. He wanted to answer. He couldn‘t.

„Sadie! Sadie, he‘s over here!“

Oh, that voice again. That voice was going to be the death of him.

Somebody was approaching, fast, the leaves crunching angrily beneath their feet. Branches and leaves alike were pushed away in their path. The sounds stopped, replaced by a heavy breathing and a low „Fuck“.

He heard people talking. He couldn‘t decipher how many there were but he didn‘t hear the beautiful one. 

„Arthur.“ There it was again. He had missed it.

He tried answering, a grunt was the only thing he managed. But it seemed to be enough. The beautiful voice wasn‘t laced with concern and fear anymore, relief replacing them. „Thank God, Arthur. We thought you was dead for sure now.“

He tried opening his eyes, the light of the morning temporarily blinding him, making him shut them again. The next time he opened them he saw John sitting next to his bed on that broken chair again.

„Not gonna get rid of me that easily.“

„What were you even doing out there?“

„Tryna-“ he took a deep breath, it stung in his lungs, making him wheeze. John quickly grabbed for a cup of water and handed it to him, Arthur drank it swiftly and thanked the other as soon as he could talk again. „Was tryna catch some deer.“

„Oh, Arthur.“ 

„I‘m fine, 's nothing.“ 

„No, Arthur. It‘s not nothing, you could have died out there. And for what?“

„I didn‘t wanna sit around all the time and let you fellers do all the work, while i was doin‘ nothin‘.“ He folded his left arm over his face, covering his eyes from the burning sunlight. 

„Drink this again, you sure as hell need it.“

He was offered the green liquid again. He slowly sat up and took it from Johns hands. The cup was warm this time and the liquid wasn‘t so thick anymore. 

„Thought I‘d mix some coffee into it to try and overpower the disgusting taste of it.“ 

Arthur was grateful for it. It even worked to some extent. The taste was still horrible but not quite as bad as it was the last few times. On instant, his lungs felt lighter, his throat wasn‘t closing up anymore and he felt more alive.

„Where‘s Sadie?“

„Outside, talkin‘ to Hosea.“

„Hosea‘s here?“ Arthur asked incredulously, instantly trying to get up to greet his old friend.

Getting up deemed impossible, as John instantly got up and forced him to lie back down again, assuring Arthur that he would go and get Hosea.

So John went outside. And thus the beautiful voice joined the two hushed whispers outside.

Arthur looked around, one of the windows was slightly cracked open, letting a cold breeze seep in. He could hear the crackling of embers from the outside, wondering if John had made the fire solely for the coffee he had brewed for him. 

The door slowly opened up again and Hosea stepped in. „Arthur, my boy!“ His voice was reliefed and happy, he probably didn‘t think he‘d ever see his son again. 

„Hosea.“ 

„How are you, son?“

A cough was the best answer Hosea would be getting to this question. „I‘m fine. How about you? Recovered well from that gunshot?“

„Indeed, I did, and so did Lenny. We have been staying with Charles, Abigail and Jack for the past few weeks. I would love for you three to come by sometime soon, when you are able to travel again, of course.“

„We will.“ It was a promise. And Arthur tended to keep his promises.

„Man, I missed you.“ Arthur sighed. „Me too, my boy. Me too.“ 

A long while of catching up later, Hosea had announced that he would be leaving again. He made sure to let them know he would come by again as soon as he was able to and then he would bring the others with him as well.

Now they were on their own again, John, Sadie and Arthur. Sadie hasn‘t said a word to Arthur yet, still angry at him for worsening his already critical condition.

John, on the other hand, would not stop talking. He was telling Arthur everything about the robbery, how they snuck in, how the bank employee was too stupid to even realize that he was being robbed, about how they were just able to stroll right out again and leave without running into a single lawman. They had collected eighty-two dollars, that would suffice them for some few weeks. 

Arthur thought it sounded a bit shady but he didn‘t want to ruin the younger mans excitement and giddy mood, so he kept his mouth shut.

Sadie watched them from the corner, listening in but staying silent. If something John was saying weren‘t true, she would interject, Arthur was sure of that. She looked at the way John leaned forward in his chair and the way Arthur was supporting himself by stemming his hands on the bed on either side of his hips. How Arthur leaned his shoulders on the wall of the cabin. How relaxed they both seemed. She noticed it all. 

But most importantly, she recognized the way Arthur looked at John talking. 

Jake used to look at her like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again, friends
> 
> i wanted to let yall know that im really making this story up as i go, so if there is something that you would like me to include, leave a comment and ill see what i can do.
> 
> anyways, thank yall for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur, Sadie and John get a surprise visit.

A few days have already passed since Hoseas visit and since he made the promise to return, and Hosea was a man that stood true to his word.

Still, it was quite a surprise when Hosea, Lenny, Charles, Abigail and Jack suddenly came riding into the clearing. Arthur, who had been sleeping prior to their arrival, had been greeted by an immediate commotion that had startled him awake. 

Certainly a way of waking up he could get used to.

Arthur slowly got up and went outside. It has started getting cold now, the September air sending shivers down Arthurs arms. He ignored his bodys protests and went outside to see John and Sadie greeting everybody with hugs.

„Uncle Arthur!“ Jack ran up to him and sprung into his arms, Arthur tried to catch him and lift him up as best as he could. John quickly ran over and supported Jacks weight on Arthurs hip.

Arthur looked over at him and gave him a grateful smile, then turned back to Jack. „Hey there, boy. You been growing well, I see!“ 

„Sure, uncle Arthur! Mommy says soon I will be taller than the trees!“ Arthur chuckled softly and went to put Jack back down, being too heavy to hold in his still weakened arms despite Johns help. 

„We better watch out then!“ And then Jack giggled to himself and ran back to his mother, who gave Arthur a big smile. 

„You alright, Morgan?“ John asked. 

„Sure.“ Then Arthur made his way over to the rest with John following. 

„Arthur Morgan. Wasn‘t sure I‘d ever see your beaten face again.“ 

„Ah, Lenny, you know me. Yer ain‘t gonna get rid of me easily.“ 

„That I‘ve noticed.“ His tone then changed, turning sincere „I‘m glad to see you again, Arthur.“

Arthur smiled tightly back at his young friend. „We gotta go to a saloon again sometime, you and me.“ 

That made Lenny howl from laughter. „We don‘t want a repetition of that night.“

They shared a good laugh before they both moved on. Arthur sharing some soft spoken words with Abigail whilst Jack was playing nearby. Him greeting Charles, thanking him for taking care of and protecting their family. Charles replying, saying that family stick together and that he wouldn‘t want it any other way. 

Arthur and Hosea sitting down onto the log in front of the fire that Sadie had started to have a long overdue talk about everything.

About the bank robbery that went south and almost killed Lenny and Hosea. About Molly, who they had thrown out in response to her ratting them out. „What ever happened to that gal?“ Arthur had asked. „I reckon she is still around Saint Denis somewhere.“ Hosea replied, his voice hushed. He disliked talking about it. 

Their conversation had shifted to talking about Dutch. About him going mad and leaving them all with Micah. 

„We should have seen it comin‘.“ Is what Arthur pointed out. 

„No, my boy. We trusted him. He was a good man for longer than any of us can remember. He saved us all from terrible fates but in the end, he was the one who needed saving. But we shall not fault ourselves for losing him. And certainly we shan‘t fault ourselves for not seeing his descent sooner. We loved him, Arthur, and love is blind. We tried to see the good in him until it became invisible. And he started fading away and going down this path of madness and deceit, there was nothing we could have done for him. All we have now is the memory of him, we should treasure all the good ones and burn the bad ones along with our sadness of losing him.“ 

They sat there in silence after that, Arthur taking in what Hosea had uttered and how right he was. Hosea has always been the wisest man any of their gang members had ever met. 

Hosea said one last thing before patting Arthur on the shoulder and standing up to go inside to the others.

„Ain‘t nothing good ever come of grieving for someone that ain‘t dead.“

 

Arthur followed after Hosea a few minutes later, when the cold started to get to him. Before going inside, he stopped at the post where Rachel was hitched at and patted her long fur. „You‘re a good girl, hm?“ Dutch used to say that his voice was the softest and most tender whenever he was talking to their horses, he guessed it was true. 

Inside, everybody was sprawled out somewhere. John, Abigail and Jack were all sitting on the bed. John and Abigail talking quietly as Jack sat in between them, playing with a toy train and making his own sounds to accompany it.

Sadie stood by the window, leaning against the wall with a cup of coffee clasped in both of her hands. She was talking with Charles and Lenny. Hosea was sitting at the table, reading a book. It was just like in the old times. There were many people missing but the absence of a particular one hurt the most. 

Just then, Sadie wandered over to Hosea, giving Arthur the chance to talk to Charles for a bit. 

„Hey there, Charles.“

„Arthur.“ He nodded in greeting. „Glad you‘re recovering.“

„Me too.“ A short pause. „Any idea where the rest is? Karen, Tilly, Mary-Beth, Pearson? Hell, Swanson?“

„I‘m sorry, Arthur, but no. We‘ve been looking around for them but so far we got nothing.“ 

Arthur sighed in frustration. 

„Well, Sadie, Marston and me are gonna ask around nearby, see if anybody here knows something.“ 

„Please do.“

Thus their conversation had ended.

Later, they had formed a circle on the ground, eating venison stew that Abigail and Lenny had prepared before. The silence was a comfortable one. Everybody was just happy to have a tiny piece of their past back, of their family. For the first time in a long while, they were happy. 

After everybody had eaten up and their stomachs were full, the visitors were preparing for their leave again. 

„Please, do come by sometime.“ Abigail had asked. 

„We will. Soon as Morgan over here is good to travel again.“ Sadie had promptly answered. 

They all hugged and then they were on their way. And Sadie, John and Arthur were alone again.

The horses steps were fading away, their sounds reverberating momentarily in the woods, then fading away completely. The followed silence was deafening. The world had stopped spinning for a few moments, then it started up again. The nature came back alive. Crickets started chirping their usual tune, the wind rustled around the leaves on the ground, critters were walking through the woods, crunching leaves in their wake.

Neither of the group said a word as they made their way back inside. 

John and Sadie went to their respective bedrolls and Arthur to the bed.

They fell asleep without exchanging any words beforehand. 

When Arthur woke up, he heard John still storing softly on the ground at the foot of his bed. He looked to the other side to see Sadies bedroll empty. Thats when he noticed the fire crackling outside and that only one horse was whinnying outside instead of two. 

He sat up and stretched his arms out. The bed creaked under the sudden movement, making John jerk awake.

„What the-“

„'s okay, John, go back to sleep.“

John has never been a good listener. Instead of going back to sleep, he got up and went outside. He left the door open, letting the cold air waft in and making Arthur shiver. He pulled his covers closer around himself.

Then John came back in with coffee and everything Arthur would have thrown at Johns head flew away with the wind.

John handed him a mug of hot coffee without saying a word, then motioned for Arthur to scoot over a tad on the bed. Arthur did as told and John sat down to his right. They sipped their coffees in relative silence. There were sounds filtering through the tiny cracks in the wood cabin but they were dulled. 

„Arthur.“ The sudden sound made Arthur jerk a bit, although he tried to hide it.

„Hm?“ 

„You feeling better?“ His voice was tentative, careful.

He blew out air through his nose before answering. „Yeah.“

„Wanna go hunting?“

„Ain‘t Sadie already?“

„No, she said she was gonna go down to Clowerton to ask about the rest of the family.“

Arthur gave a hum in response.

„Let‘s go then.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhnnnngng i really have no idea what im doing


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadie keeps on searching for their old friends.

They had been hunting in silence for a few minutes, when John asked „You feeling better?“

„Yes, now could you stop asking me that?“

„I‘m just trying to make sure, Arthur.“

The older man sighed, rubbing his eyes. „I know, 'm sorry.“ 

„Ain‘t nothing to be sorry for.“

The silence stretched on again, encasing them. Leaves were crunching underneath their feet, making it hard for them to hunt. Thus they had settled for building and setting up rabbit traps which they would check on the next day. 

Nothing eventful happened, they managed to catch a boar, which John carried on his shoulders back to camp. 

Arthur skinned and prepared the animal while John set up a fire. Silently, Arthur handed the prepared meat to John for him to cook. 

They then both fled from the stinging cold and went back inside, sitting on the bed together and eating. 

„You did good out there.“ Arthur said, clasping his hand onto the others knee and shaking it. 

Arthur could hear Johns breath hitch but he chose not to comment on it, the other was most likely surprised at the sudden contact. 

„Thanks.“ Then John did something.

He raised his hand tentatively, slowly covering Arthur own with it. Arthur felt the blood rushing up into his cheeks and he averted his gaze, John did the same. They stayed seated like that for a few more minutes until Arthur started lying down. John had tried standing up to leave for his bedroll but Arthur caught his wrist.

„Stay.“

Arthur pulled on his wrist until John laid down in front of Arthur. Just the way they had done so many nights ago. And just like then, Arthur wrapped his arm protectively around Johns small waist.

—-

Sometime in the night, Sadie had come waltzing into the house, startling John and Arthur awake.

„Hey, fellers. I got something.“

Sadie noticed the way they had been sleeping but she wasn‘t going to interfere in any way. She would let the boys figure themselves out.

They both groaned, John sitting up and wiping his eyes, Arthur stretching his arms whilst still lying down.

Sadie stood by the table, leaning her hand against the tabletop, waiting patiently for her male companions to get up and accompany her.

Arthur was the first one at the table, rubbing his neck and yawning. „What you got?“

She waited for John to come over as well before explaining. She sighed when the man stumbled over an empty mug and almost fell face down onto the floor. 

„Some folk told me about a broad guy, deep demanding voice, very bad temper and his companion was a smaller guy, very timid and shy. Someone overheard them talking and the small feller had said that horses were better than peope and big guy had laughed. Is all I know but it sounds promising.“

„Kieran and Bill?“ John asked. He was slow in processing information when he had just woken up.

„Yeah, dumbass.“

„So where are they?“

„If I knew they would be here already, Marston.“

Arthur raised his hand to interject. „They tell you which way they went?“

„Yeah, went up north apparently.“

Arthur hummed in response. „Any word on the others?“

„No but I‘m gonna head down to Echo now to ask round there.“ 

„Well, we‘re comin‘.“ Arthur announced. „No, you aren‘t,“ Sadie retaliated.

„You, Morgan, are still recovering and I can‘t use Marston talking to people so I‘m going alone.“ 

Arthur huffed, he knew arguing with the woman would lead nowhere except for them losing time. „A‘ight, then.“

„See you later then, boys.“ And with that, Sadie was already gone.

—-

She had been riding for what must have been fifteen minutes when somebody halted her. It was a lawman. „Hello, Miss.“

She tipped her hat at him. „Sir. To what do I owe the pleasure?“

„Well, we are looking for some men and we believe they might be in this area. Say, have you seen any of those men?“

He then held up three posters with either having Dutchs, Arthurs or Johns face plastered onto them.

„I‘m sorry, kind man, I haven‘t.“

„Alright then, Miss. Would you mind keeping an eye out for them?“

„Sure.“

She then proceeded her way to Echo, where she hitched her horse in front of a saloon. Even though it was still morning, there were already a few patrons inside. She staggered up the steps but stopped in her tracks when she noticed the wanted posters pinned to the saloon wall. There was an additional face that the lawman before hadn‘t shown her. Hosea. How did they even know he was still alive?

She ripped the four posters off the wall and shoved them into her satchel.

Inside, everybody was looking at her. She raised her arms in a „what?“ gesture and let them fall when everybody started minding their own businesses again. 

She made her way to the bartender and put on a fake sweet smile, he instantly fell for it.

„What can I get for you, lady?“

„Well, I just wanted to ask for some help. See, I was riding with some friends of mine but I seem to have gotten lost.“

The bartender gave her a pitying look. „Oh, poor thing. What they look like maybe I seen them.“

„Theres three young women, who should be travelling with an old drunk man, a mexican, a drunk pastor, an old bossy lady and a small irish man that loves picking fights.“

„I seen some of them, I believe. Small irish man? Came in here a few weeks ago and picked a fight, a mexican man with long hair tried to stop the feller from hurting himself.“

„Oh, thank you, sir!“ The relief in her voice wasn‘t put on. „Have you seen which way they went?“

„Yeah, said something about finding their gang and went up north to Ridge to ask around there. Mentioned two fellers named Bill and Kevin I think.“

„Kieran.“ 

„Oh, yeah! That was his name!“

„Thank you so much. Here, take this.“ She put two dollars onto the counter and made her way back outside again.

She gave a quick wave to a lady that was staring at her, sadly she didn‘t have the time to stay, she had to get up to Ridge to look for Sean and Javier. She just hoped they were dumb enough to stay in one place for so long.

She quickly went back outside and mounted her horse, Hera, and made her way up to Ridge.

—-

Sadie trotted through the gate of Ridge around noon. It must have been about an hour of travelling. The town was fairly small, with only a few buildings scattered around here and there. Some people were sitting out on porches, watching her warily. She tipped their hat and greeted them but she didn‘t get a response besides a stare. 

She had decided to, again, ask in the local saloon for information. She hitched her horse in front of the establishment and before entering, she glanced over to see if there were any wanted posters attached to the outer wall. There weren‘t. It looked as though there had been some before she arrived but they were ripped off hastily.

Again, she entered and chatted up the bartender. „Excuse me, sir? I have been told that my friends have been spotted here, could you help me out?“

„What they look like?“

„One of 'ems Irish and got a big mouth, other feller is mexican. They were looking for two of our other friends around here.“

The bartender hummed in concentration. „Ain‘t ringin‘ a bell for me. Go ask the Sheriff he may know more.“

„Thank you, sir.“ She tipped her hat to him and quickly left. The sheriffs office was just across the deserted street, so she left Hera where she was.

The sheriff was an older bloke. He had a grey mustache that hung just past his chin and his head was covered by a hat, but from what she could tell, he had rather short hair. He looked at her expectantly, obviously not used to seeing a woman dressed and acting the way Sadie did. 

„I‘m lookin‘ for some friends. One feller‘s Irish and the other‘s Mexican. You seen them?“ 

„I have.“ He pointed his right hand over to one of the occupied cells. That‘s when Sadie noticed Sean and Javier were the occupants. They were both sleeping while sitting on the ground with Sean snoring loudly.

„How much?“

„Fifty dollars for the both of 'em.“

„Forty.“

„Forty-Five.“ 

Sadie rolled her eyes and contemplated. „Ugh, alright.“

She handed him the money and he then went to open the celldoor to let her in. She kicked them both in the legs, startling them before they realized who it was.

„Oi! It‘s tha lady Mrs. Adler!“

Sadie surely didn‘t miss that kid. „Yeah, now get up.“ 

„Sadie, I‘m glad you found us.“ Javier said sincerely.

„Me too. Now let‘s go.“ She turned to the Sheriff and thanked him before leading the other two outside.

„Where we goin‘?“ 

„To our camp. You got your horses?“

They both nodded and went to grab their respective horses, mounting them quickly and then following Sadie without a word.

„Who‘s with ya? Are ye alone?“

„Arthur and Marston.“

„Aye, Morgan‘s still breathin‘? Didn‘t think I would get to see that bastard again.“ Sean laughed whole heartedly.

Aside from Sean‘s constant useless chatter, the ride back to camp was uneventful and Sadie hoped it would be over soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oii, friends!!  
> Hnvj if anybody wants to like proof read my bs pls message me


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadie visits her family, bringing along two old friends.

As soon as she arrived at camp, Sadie hitched her horse, Hera, and hurried inside the hut, trying to get away from Seans constant blabbering. He sure loved talking but Sadie didn‘t like listening.

Javier followed suit and, after taking in all of his surroundings, he went inside the cabin as well, shutting the door in front of Seans face. 

„Oi!“ 

The door opened again and shut just as quickly, Sean letting himself in. 

Arthur, John and Javier were already talking, exchanging stories. Sean then interrupted them by greeting John and Arthur. 

„Arthur! Am glad to see the man who saved me life again!“

„Stop with that crap.“ Arthur groaned.

„No, you was the one that shoved me outta the way from a clean bullet to the head. I owes you my life!“ Sean was overtly cheerful, most likely because he had been stuck in a small prison cell for the past few days and was finally free again. 

„What‘s he talkin‘ about?“ John whispered to Arthur. „When we was fucked with by them Grays.“ John wouldn‘t get much more of an explanation out of Arthur so he let it go.

„You fellers should head up to the others, they has space for you that we don‘t.“ Sadie broke the silence. 

„The others?“ It was Javier asking. 

„Yeah, Abigail and Jack, Hosea, Lenny and Charles. They is up in the mountains. I can bring show you.“

„Hosea and Lenny? Have they recovered from their wounds already?“ 

„They have. Strong men, those two. Stronger than this feller for sure.“ She stared pointedly at Arthur but the man knew she was just trying to mess with him.

„Shall we go?“

„Please, I can‘t stand that Irish man around any longer.“

Javier gave John a look that emitted all of the distress that the man has been through. „You have no idea.“

—-

„Heya there, Hosea. Got some new fellers for ya today.“ 

„Mrs Adler! What a nice surprise! And Javier, Sean! I‘m very glad that our family is starting to reunite again.“ 

„Me too, old man.“ She hugged Hosea closely and led Javier and Sean into the camp. 

Their camp consisted of five small huts. One of them had two stories. There were two standing to the left and another two stood to the right of the road. The rocky road ended at the fifth and last house, which was the one with two stories. There was a small stable in front of the two huts on the left, where three horses were hitched at, whinnying softly, as if talking to each other. 

Sadie heard a fire crackling somewhere, though she did not see where it was coming from. The woods were way less dense up here than they were at her own little camp further down the mountain. She noticed the door of the house at the end of the road spring open followed by Jack running outside to greet his best friends. He had been talking about how much he missed all of his family all of the time, it had hurt Abigail more each and every day, hearing her son cry for missing somebody that she knew would never return. Most of the days he cried for Dutch.

The young boys mother soon followed after him, hurrying after him with a blanket in her hands. She caught up with him and threw the blanket around his shoulders, scolding him for running out into the cold without any protection. He nodded sheepishly and asked if he could go say hello to his friends now and sniffed. Abigail took his hand and led him over to the others. He let go of her hand and ran the last few steps until he could throw himself at Javier, the man easily catching him and hugging him tightly against his chest. 

„How are you, my boy?“

„I‘m good now.“

Javier patted his head and hugged him a little while longer before dropping him back onto the ground, telling the boy he was getting too big soon for him to hold him. Jack pouted at that. 

Meanwhile, Abigail had wandered over to Sadie. „How are John and Arthur?“ 

„They‘re doing good.“

„Have they finally figured themselves out?“ Abigail asked curiously. She knew about Johns feelings. She loved him, yes, but that meant letting go too. Letting him move on and wishing for him to be happy. And she knew Arthur would be able to be that person for John, the one to make him happy and keep him safe and grounded. 

„Hm? No, they‘re Arthur and John, what was you expecting?“

All that Abigail had ever for John was to live a peaceful and good life. If he was too dense to get this for himself too, then she would have to help him out with that as well. She decided to have a talk with John sometime.

But she just nodded at Sadie and veered their conversation into another territory.

„So when is they gonna come up here? We want us all back together, like old times.“

„When Arthur is fully stable and we trust him to not fall off his horse in a coughing fit.“ Sadie stated, giving Abigail a once-over. In the distance they could hear Jack giggling as he was playing hide and seek with Charles, Sean and Lenny and had just found Sean. The Ire clasped his hand over his heart and groaned, falling to the ground dramatically. „He got me!“ 

Abigail smiled sweetly at the scene. She was glad that Jack gets to grow up with a family like theirs. 

„I gotta talk to Hosea. You coming?“ The other woman suddenly asked.

She was taken aback for a second before replying „Uhm, yeah, sure, why not?“

They sauntered over to the hut that they had seen Hosea leave off to earlier, their hands brushed momentarily, sending shivers down Abigails spine. She tried not to think about it.

Sadie knocked on the hard wooden door before saying „Hosea, can we talk?“ 

She barely heard the older mans response, as it was dulled by the closed door. „Yes, come on in!“

The blonde quickly turned the doorknob and opened the door, holding it open for Abigail to enter before going in herself. „Thank you,“ Abigail nodded at her. Sadie grinned and waved her hand curtly.

„So what is it?“ Hosea inquired, standing up from the seat by the fireplace he had been occupying.

Sadie quickly fished the wanted posters out of her satchel, looking around quickly before spotting a table and spreading the posters out on it. The other two quietly followed her to the table but were interrupted by a scream from outside.

Lenny was the one yelling, making the three tense up, but they soon relaxed when the yell was followed by a little boys laughter. Seemed as though Charles was the best one at hiding.

Abigails lips turned upwards into a softhearted smile. She shared a look with Sadie before turning back to the posters.

„So they is still searching for us?“ words spoken full of sorrow and weariness.

„Seems like it,“ sighed Sadie.

„They won‘t find us up here, I‘m sure of that. And if they did, we’d already be gone by then.“ said Hosea gravely.

„We gave the people in our vicinity some of the money we got left to keep their mouths shut. And Charles threatened them good.“ he continued, his tone turning amused by the end.

„Now, we will keep a look out, but it is getting late and I was hoping to get some rest and you should as well.“ He gave them both a pointed stare, making sure that they understood what they should be doing.

„Alright, thanks, Hosea.“ The blonde voiced, already making her way back towards the door, holding it open for her friend again before leaving as well, shutting the door quietly behind herself. 

And indeed it was later than both of the women had expected. It was already dark out and the crickets had stopped chirping. Howling could be heard from further up the mountains.

Abigail shivered from the cold, rubbing her hands and holding them in front of her face, blowing lightly onto them. Sadie put her left hand onto the small of the others back and started leading her to the house at the end of the road, Abigails home. Her own teeth had begun to clacker as well, although she tried to hide it. The embers of the fire next to Hoseas hut were still glowing orange, illuminating the path slightly. 

„Stay at my cabin for tonight, Sadie.“ It was more a demand than it was a request. Sadie wouldn‘t have refused even if it were.

„Sure,“ she nonchalantly answered.

This time, Abigail was the one holding the door open for her companion. She hushed in quickly after Sadie and yelled out for Jack, asking him if he was alright. When the boy confirmed, she sighed and strolled over to a small chimney in the far left corner of the hut and started to make a fire.

„Please, make yourself comfortable.“ Sadie took this to heart and sat down on the bed opposite of the chimney, watching the other woman closely. She was leaning forwards, leaning her right arm on her knee and resting her head on her closed fist. 

The fire crackled loudly and lightened up the entire first story of the house. Abigail looked beautiful in the yellowish red light of the fire. Almost ethereal. 

Sadie cleared her head of that thought and lied down on the bed instead, putting her hands up behind her head and throwing one leg over the other, bended one.

„Move a bit.“ Abigail whispered softly. 

Sadie complied and moved closer to the wall, giving Abigail space to lie down as well. The blonde was tapping her foot against the air, as if she was nervous.   
Abigail put her hand onto the other womans leg, steadying her. „Go to sleep.“ she mumbled before turning onto her left side, her back now facing Sadie, and closed her eyes.

Sadie heard her breathing regulate and figured that she had fallen asleep. Determined to do the same, she lied down behind Abigail, assuming the same position as her. She made sure to keep her hands to herself and not wrap them around the brunettes small waist. 

She turned around, now lying back to back to her friend, to avoid giving in. She didn‘t want Abigail making her leave first thing in the morning.

She sighed before closing her eyes, falling asleep to the steady crackling of the fire and the sounds of nature from outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhell yeash lets go lesbians lets go


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and John enjoy their time alone until an uninvited guest comes along.  
> Sadie gets ready to leave for home again.

„Hey, Arthur!“

The raspy voice was right in his face, waking him up in an instant. He shoved the grinning face of one John Marston out of his own, groaning while doing so. John, who had been leaning down, his elbows supporting him by resting on his knees, laughed loudly and stood back up.

„I already made coffee.“ The younger man stated, leaning back down again to pull the blanket off of Arthurs body. Arthur yelled out and grabbed back at the blanket, yanking John along. The latter almost falling on top of Arthur on the bed but managing to keep his balance and then continuing to pull on the soft fabric in response. 

The blond then tossed the blanket away and tackled John, throwing him onto the ground, himself on top of the other. John struggled against him, trying to free himself from Arthurs strong grip on his arms. Arthur sat up on top of John, one leg on either side of the youngers waist. „Got you now.“ Arthur declared proudly. „Oh, no, you don’t,“ the other replied, quickly freeing himself when Arthur wasn’t paying as much attention and grabbing onto Arthurs waist, tossing him off of himself and rolling them over.

They continued wrestling on the floor until they ran out of breath. John came out as the winner, lying on top of the other, though Arthur wrote his loss off as the fact that John was still young and he himself was a „sick, old bastard.“

They were both breathing heavily, John still lying on top of Arthur, having the other mans wrists pinned down on the ground.

The world had gone quiet, all that was to be heard was the rustling of paper as Arthurs journal lay open on the desk beneath the slightly opened window. It felt as though time had stopped, the world not spinning anymore whilst they were looking at each other.

Arthur and Johns gazes lingered. John saw something glinting in Arthurs eyes, his expression changing. He couldn‘t quite decipher it.

An owl hooted outside, saying goodbye to the night. The horses answered by whinnying quietly. 

Everything was so peaceful. Was this the life Arthur had wanted for John all those months ago? 

Arthur interrupted that thought as soon as it had come „Get off me now, would you?“ He then shoved at Johns side, motioning for him to lie down on the ground next to him.

They continued lying there for some minutes. Then, Arthur turned his face to the right, facing John. The latter turned as well, having seen the movement out of the corner of his eye.

The blond averted his eyes downwards, sighing quietly before looking back up at the ceiling. Johns gaze lingered.

Soon enough, horses hooves could be heard clashing against the hard pavement of the road. It sounded like too many sets of hooves for just Sadie. Had she convinced some of their family to come back down again? 

„Morgan!“ A gruff voice called out.

It sounded vaguely familiar, although neither Arthur nor John recognized it. 

„Shit.“ Arthur whispered, motioning for John to follow him to the window closest to the voice. „Stay down.“ 

„Okay.“ 

John was on the left side of the window, Arthur on the right. The latter peeked out of the window, trying to find out if he would be able to see the intruders.

„Morgan, we knows you‘re in there!“ The voice called out again. Hooves were now impatiently trampling against the road, stones could sometimes be heard flying off and crashing against each other.

„You see anything?“ 

John was already going up to take a peek himself but Arthur shoved him back down. „I said stay down.“

Arthur coughed into his sleeve, trying to stifle the sound as to not be heard.

He went up again to take a closer look. The only face he was able to recognized was not one he had wanted to ever see again. He felt rage so deep it almost consumed him. 

John noticed. 

„Who is it?“

„Some people I don‘t recognize and one all too familiar face.“

„Arthur. Who is it?“

„Micah.“

—-

Sadie woke up to an empty bed the next morning just as the daylight dawned. She sat up and stretched, sitting there for a while, the blanket bunched up around her hips. She decided to pull it over her shoulders to give her some extra warmth. Choosing to just enjoy the morning for once, Sadie leaned back in the bed, her back connecting with the wall as she sighed contently. 

The birds started chirping as she sat there. The world came back alive. 

The door opened quietly and footsteps started approaching her, the soft sounds indicating that it must be the young Jack. He was carrying a cup in his small hands and was making his way over to Sadie. 

„Hello!“ the boy greeted cheerfully.

„Good morning, Jack,“ she smiled at him.

„Momma gave me a mission! She said to bring you this,“ he stretched out his hands containing the cup, the woman reached out and took it from him, taking a small sip from the steaming cup. Coffee.

„Thank you, Jack. And tell your mother thanks as well.“

„Will do!“

And then he was off again, leaving Sadie to rest by herself.

After having sipped all of the warm beverage, Sadie put the blanket aside and stood up to start putting on her clothes. As she got to her boots, she sat back down to put them on.

She heard talking from outside, it sounded like whispers through the thick barriers of the cabin. 

Sadie decided to join in and made her way outside, where she spotted Charles and Hosea conversing.

„What‘s going on?“ 

„We were thinking of coming back down with you, see how Arthurs doing.“

„Oh, I bet he‘s alright. It‘s John I‘d worry about.“

Charles turned to her „Why‘s that?“

„He has the brains of a chicken.“

That earned her two grins, which turned into hearty laughs. 

After a few moments, Sadies laughter faded away. „But I‘d be glad to have you back down there again. Don‘t force yourselves to it though, can‘t be exciting sitting on a horse back the whole day just to see those two again.“

Charles chuckled again. „I‘d sit on a horses back for an entire week to see to my family, Mrs. Adler.“

„Guess you‘re right.“

„I think we will join you,“ Hosea interjected.

„Alright, then. Let‘s go get our horses ready, we should be leaving soon.“

The three of them wandered over to the posts where their horses were hitched. Sadies mare seemed gleeful about her owners return. Sometimes Sadie thought that Hera loved her as much as she loved Hera. 

Before she could hop onto her horses back, she heard somebody call out for her „Sadie!“ 

Abigail running over to them, her hands tightly clutching a blanket around her shoulders. She halted right in front of Sadie, almost crushing into her. „Please, take this.. and take care.“ She grasped Sadies wrist, making her stretch out her hand, and put some herbs into her hand. She then grabbed Sadies fingers with her free hand and closed them down around the herbs. Abigail didn‘t move for a while, just holding onto the blondes hand with her own. 

„See you soon, Mrs Adler.“

Sadie nodded, clasping her free hand over Abigails and stroking it softly with her thumb.

„I promise.“

Then she hopped onto her horse, kicking it into its side slightly whilst clicking her tongue, and was gone. 

Charles and Hosea quickly followed, both shouting out their goodbyes as they rode off into the rising run. 

Abigail was left standing there, her hands feeling cold until Jack came running over, grabbing her left hand and dragging her over to their house, while babbling excitedly about something that he wanted to show her. 

She could hear Javier playing a relaxing tune on his guitar in their little community house, which was the first one to the right. It was the place they ate at together, where they played games, where they talked deep into the night. It was the place they went to when they just wanted to be in each others company, when they didn‘t want to feel all alone. Alongside Javiers playing was Sean singing. It was an old song that Abigail remembered hearing in her childhood.

Jack dragged her into the community space, interrupting the lovely playing and the mediocre singing. When the two noticed that it was just Abigail and Jack, they slowly resumed what they had been doing. Abigail then spotted Lenny sitting in a corner, listening to the other two and nodding his head along with the melody. It truly felt like home.

Her son then let go of her hand and rushed inside another room, retrieving something and quickly rushing back. 

„Look! I made this!“ It was a small drawing of their family, Abigail could recognize everyone instantly, even though they were only drawn as stick figures.

„Uncle Arthur once gave me some things to draw with but I couldn‘t find them again until now!“ the boy explained excitedly.

„It‘s beautiful. We should put it up over the chimney.“

The young mother shood up and rested the drawing against the wall, putting a few stones in front of the paper to prevent it from falling forwards.

She took a few steps back and laid her hand onto her sons shoulder, looking at the drawing proudly. 

She didn‘t want to think about the fact that most of the people on the drawing weren‘t with them anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i love those yeehaw bitches


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Micah come face to face again.

Arthur dared to take another peek. Just then he noticed that Micah had gotten off his horse and taken a few steps towards the cabin.

The three Pinkertons he had in his company stayed back, still sitting on the backs of their horses.

„You know, Morgan, we got a friend of yours. My friends here picked him up a long time ago.“ He dragged out the ‚o‘ from the word ‚long‘ to an annoying extent before continuing. „Sadly, he got away a few months ago but we got him again. And we got him good. He‘s lucky to still be alive... but that might just be changing today.“

„Now, Morgan, if you isn‘t gonna come out, we will just have to put a bullet into your friends head here.“

The man in question took a quick glance again. He didn‘t see anybody he recognized except for Micah. He started to wonder if the man was just trying to play him or if he was serious about having somebody he knows with him.

The next time he looked, Micah had disappeared behind his men. He soon returned with a tied up and struggling man tightly in his grip. 

—-

Sadie was the one leading the way, Hosea after her and Charles trailing behind. 

„So how are Arthur and John?“ Charles shouted from the back.

„They‘re doing alright. We gotta take Arthur to a doctor again soon, see if the TB has gone.“

„That‘s good to hear.“

After that neither of the three said anything anymore. They rode on quietly and in peace, listening to their horses hooves clashing against the dirt road and the birds chirping.

—-

Arthur quietly stood up, John followed. The older man turned to him and held out a calming hand, telling him to stay inside. „I got this. Just... don‘t let them know you‘re here. I can‘t lose you.“

John visibly hesitated, moving his weight from foot to foot as he was contemplating. He sighed as he decided. „Be save.“

„You know me.“

Then Arthur opened the creaking door, and he heard all of the men, including Micah, turn towards him in surprise.

„Look who decided to show!“

„Shut the hell up, Micah,“ he said while raising his hands. Every single man had his gun raised, pointing it at Arthur. He put up his hands in surrender and took a few small steps forward, away from the cabin. And John.

„Let him go, Micah. The poor bastard‘s been through enough.“

„Oh, but you‘re forgetting that little Kieran here is an O‘Driscoll. A dirty rat, why would you give your life for his?“

„I guess I‘m just an idiot.“

Arthur knew why he did it. Arthur had decided that he couldn‘t lose another life. Another friend. Not again. And not to Micah.

Even if he hadn‘t even known said friend was still breathing, or if he hadn‘t seen him in a few years. A friend is a friend. Family is family. And Arthur always used to take pride in the fact that he was willing to die for his family. That hadn‘t changed at all. If he were to be asked, he'd say that he would still give his life for Dutch in an instant. Even after everything. Dutch was still family, even if he didn‘t want to be.

„You always were.“

Arthur inclined his head to the left, chuckling lowly. The sound was hollow and it echoed around the clearing. 

Micahs men had decided that Arthur wasn‘t a threat and put down their guns, although still watching him warily, their hands close to their holsters.

„Let him go, Micah,“ he repeated.

Micah shoved Kieran forward „Take him! He hasn‘t been of any use anyhow!“. He took heavy strides forwards, pushing the tied up man in front of him. „Take him!“ He shouted with one final push, which sent Kieran flying down, his face landing in the mud. He struggled, groaning into the piece of cloth that was tied around his head and over his mouth. 

„Kieran, you okay?“ Arthur asked, his eyes still trained onto Micah and the Pinkertons.

He could make out a groan that sounded approving. 

Arthur heard crackling out in the woods. A deer, he presumed, and didn‘t dwell on it any more.

What made him tense up was the footsteps he heard inside of the cabin. Micah had noticed them too. 

„You got a special friend with you, Morgan?“ Micah asked threateningly.

„It‘s an old house, Micah. They tend to creak.“

„That wasn‘t a creak, Morgan.“ He whispered slowly, taking a few steps forward, now almost standing next to Kierans struggling form.

„Who,“ a pause, menacing „is in there?“

The crackling from inside the woods grew louder, then came to a sudden stop. 

„Micah!“ a new voice.

Bill emerged from the woods, a rifle aimed at Micahs head. He took slow but deliberate steps towards Arthur, never taking his eyes, and his aim, off of Micah.

„Arthur.“ He greeted as soon as he was standing close to the other man.

„Would you look at that. Bill Williamson.“

„Let them go and fuck off, Micah.“ 

„What are you gonna do if I don‘t?“

„You think you‘re so tough, Micah. It‘s all a lie. I seen you the way you really is. You‘re a coward.“ Arthur interjected.

Micahs hands were getting dangerously close to the holsters on his hips. The Pinkertons accompanying him had pulled their guns back out as soon as Bill had showed up. 

Two against four. Arthur heard another creak behind him. Bill and him shared a look, Bill understood. He held his hand up to his waist, his fingers outstreched.

Arthur took a quick look around, evaluating all of their options. He saw a big boulder not too far away from himself. Next to it was a thick tree. Once again, he looked at Bill, the other looking back, and he made just the slightest movement of his head, receiving a small nod in return.

As soon as he noticed one of the Pinkertons being shorty distracted by Kieran groaning on the ground, he pulled his hand into a fist and went into cover, Bill doing the same, as John ran outside of the house and opened fire on the Pinkertons and Micah. John quickly sprinted forwards, getting into cover next to Arthur. They were hiding behind the boulder, Bill behind the big tree trunk.

„Cover me.“ Arthur demanded, not waiting for Johns reply as he got out of cover and quickly raced forward, grabbing Kieran and running back into cover, laying the bound man on the ground. He fished his knife out of his satchel and untied the man, shoving a gun into his hands as soon as they were freed.

„Thank you.“ Kieran said before firing at the four others.

—-

They heard gunshots. Sadie looked over her shoulder at Hosea and Charles, sending them an alarmed look. They all picked up their horses paces and rushed towards the sound.

It was coming from Sadies home. Three horses ran by them, no doubt frightened by the shots being fired. 

„Pinkertons?“ Charles asked frantically.

„Most likely.“ The woman answered curtly, riding up the road to the all too familiar clearing.

They saw four men standing facing the cabin, firing their guns at what Sadie knew was Arthur and John.

She dismounted her mare and quickly sent her off to flee. Hosea and Charles doing the same. She motioned for Charles and Hosea to get into cover behind some trees and walked slowly up to the four men.

Sadie dislodged both of her handguns from their holsters and shouted „Hey!“.

The men all turned around. That‘s when Sadie noticed Micah.

Two of the Pinkertons were quickly shot dead from behind, the third one soon following as Sadie shot him right inbetween his surprised eyes.

„Micah,“ she greeted. „Didn‘t think I‘d see you again.“

„Mrs. Adler, I always thought you would end up in a whorehouse. Guess I was wrong.“ He shot back. 

„You‘re always wrong.“

„I wouldn‘t quite say that.“

Charles and Hosea emerged from behind her, pointing their guns at Micah. Arthur, John, Bill and Kieran did the same. 

John was the first one to speak up again „Give up, Micah.“.

Micah chuckled. „No.“ Then he raised his hands, guns in hand. One facing to the right, towards Sadie, Charles and Hosea. The other one to the left, pointing at the other four. He started shooting and running into the woods.

The others had opened fire too but only managed to catch him by his shoulder. Micah escaped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hnn i finally got holidays, babes!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur goes to the doctor.

„Crap. How‘d he get away?“ Arthur complained. 

„Dunno. We was distracted and not paying enough attention, I guess.“ John tried to answer.

„We will get him. Some day, we are gonna get this bastard and we are gonna put a bullet through his tiny brain.“ The woman was seething. She was out of herself by rage. How dare Micah just show up with his little sidekicks and starts shooting up their home? 

She kicked at the ground, stones flying off. „Come on.“ She led the way inside of the house.

Back inside, Hosea and Charles started chatting with Bill and Kieran, catching up with them. Meanwhile, John was treating a graze he had received to the shoulder, Arthur was helping him quietly.

„Kieran and me, we was camping down near Valentine. Pinkertons caught us and we had to run. Came up here and then Micah just showed up. He caught Kieran. I swore to kill every last one of them if they laid a finger on him.“

Arthur overheard that part of their conversation clearly, his hand stopping from putting a bandage around Johns wounded arm.

„Arthur?“ 

He came back to and resumed putting on the bandage. „Thank you.“ 

„Oh, anytime, Marston.“

Sadie then strolled over. „Arthur, how‘s your coughing?“ 

„Almost gone. Why?“ 

„Hosea, Charles and me was thinking we should head down to Clowerton to go see a doctor. Check if the TB‘s gone.“

„Now?“

„Yes, now, you big idiot.“

„We was just being shot at. Seems like a weird time to check on my TB.“

„It takes the mind off of the situation, Arthur. Besides, it would ease all of our minds to know.“

Arthur groaned as he reluctantly stood up, sounding like a frail old man. „I‘m going too.“ John said, standing up as well. 

Sadie turned away from them towards the others „Charles, can you go with those two?“ 

„Sure. Where to?“

„Down to the doctors office in Clowerton.“

„Alright. Let‘s go, brothers.“ He patted Arthur on the shoulder as he walked past. He held open the door for Arthur and John and left behind them.

„Arthur, you got a horse?“ Charles asked as he started mounting Taima.

„Uh, no.“

John had made his way over to Rachel, mounting her and trotting over towards him. 

„You can ride with me.“ He stretched out his hand for Arthur to take and pull himself up onto Rachels back, sitting behind John.

„Hold on tight, old man.“

Arthue only replied with „Funny,“ but he did it all the same, wrapping his arms tightly around the other mans thin waist.

Charles galloped in front of them, John following closely behind. Their path was illuminated by the glowing afternoon sun.

They all rode down the flat mountains in silence, Arthur listening to the horses soft panting of exhaustion. Slowly riding into town, the two men lead their horses straight to the doctors office. It was relatively big town, it even had a barber and a tailor. Arthur even spotted a hotel far back, he didn‘t get a good glimpse of it as it was shadowed by a big tree standing next to it and by the people shuffling by hastily. 

He noticed a man racing by, taking very quick and small steps. The man was carrying a stack of papers, which soon went flying in every direction as he tripped on a big stone whilst distracted. Arthur quickly dismounted Rachel and rushed over, starting to pick up some of the papers and noticing that his face was printed on a few of them. He pulled his hat down further over his face and resumed picking up the rest of the papers, the man having collected most of the others, some were carried away by the wind, lost somewhere. Arthur quickly stood up agai and handed the posters over to the young man. „Thank you so much, sir.“ The man said, nodding quickly at him and then rushing back off again. 

Arthur released a sigh of relief, glad that the man hadn‘t recognized his face.

Charles jogged over then, putting his hand onto Arthurs hand, saying „That was very kind of you, Arthur.“

„Well,“ Arthur shrugged. 

The other man gave him a pointed stare, signalling that he wasn‘t taking any arguments. 

Charles then led Arthur back over to John, Taima and Rachel. John had already hitched both of their horses at the post next to the entrance of the doctors office. 

Charles quickly thanked John before saying „John, why don‘t you go to the general store and get some supplies we might need for moving.“

The man in question nodded, said „sure“ and with one last gaze towards Arthur, he left for the direction of the general store.

Meanwhile, the remaining two entered the doctors office. The receptionist, a young lady with her hand tied in a big bun at the back of her head, led them over to a room. „He will be here shortly.“

„Thank you,“ said both men in response.

„You think it‘s really just gone?“ Arthur asked sceptically.

„We gotta try, Arthur.“ And that settled it.

As often as Arthur tried to argue that he was a bad person or that he deserved what he got, he was completely and utterly wrong. All of his family kept on telling him, day after day, for months. For years. They could only hope that the man would wake up one day and accept himself and what he was. Which was a good man, if not even a great one.

The doctor was a smaller man, thin too. He looked as though he was in a hurry, closing the door a bit too quickly and a bit too forcefully.

„Sit down, please. Make yourselves comfortable. Now, gentlemen, what can I do for you?“ He asked in a calm voice, contradicting his behaviour. Charles guessed he was just a man going through his life as quickly as he could, wanting it to get to a certain point in it as soon as attainable.

„My friend here was told he had tuberculosis a few months back. He‘s been doing better so we wanted to check again.“

The dochor looked between Charles and Arthur sceptically. „Tuberculosis usually doesn‘t work that way but sure.“

He turned around and started fishing around in a drawer of a mobile cabinet. Charles and Arthur shared a look behind his back, Arthur shrugging at Charles. 

 

„Ah!“ The doctor turned back around with a stethoscope in his hands. He put it on and laid the metal end onto Arthurs chest, telling him to breathe slowly. 

The procedure continued for a while more, the doctor growing more and more confused with everything he tried. 

„Huh.“ He finall breathed out, putting his stethoscope down. „Seems like you really beat it.“

Arthur was taken aback, he hadn‘t expected it to actually be gone. Charles started grinning, standing up from his wooden chair and clasping his hand onto Arthurs shoulder, shaking him and saying „You did it!“

„Yeah,“ Arthur whispered. He was aware of the fact that the doctor now most likely thought that he was a witcher, or that he should be more grateful for it but he couldn‘t even fully comprehend it yet. For so long he had thought that his life could end in a matter of only days. He was expecting to someday fall asleep to never wake up again, and for that to be the cause for John and Sadie to finally be able to move on. To start a new life that couldn‘t get them killed each and every minute, to be safe. He had thought it would be for the better if he were to die. 

„Arthur?“ Charles shook his shoulder. „You alright, brother?“

„Sure, let‘s go. Thank you, doctor.“ They shook hands and then Arthur and Charles left the office, paying at the reception and exiting the building.

John was already waiting outside, leaning against the building wall.

He perked up as soon as he heard the door open and rushed over. „So?“ He asked hopefully.

Charles grinned and replied for Arthur. „It‘s gone.“

„Oh, thank fuck.“ John took quick strides towards them and hugged Arthur closely, smiling against his shoulder.

Arthur buried his face in the crease where Johns shoulders connected to his neck, wrapping his arms around the others waist. For the first time, he was relieved, and smiled. 

„Let‘s go back home, tell the good news to the family.“ Charles was smiling the entire time, relieved to the bone that he wouldn‘lt be out-living his closest friend by so many years. If Charles were to get old, that is.

John reluctantly let go but Arthur was still clinging on tightly, making John chuckle and put his arms around the other again.

He heard sniffling but didn‘t mention it. A patch of his shirt was turning wet by his neck. He didn‘t say anything and tightened his grip around Arthur. „It‘s okay.“ he whispered, stroking Arthurs back.

Arthur then pulled away, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffling a couple more times, looking around warily to see if anybody was watching. There wasn‘t.

He nodded at John and at Charles, who was already sitting back on Taimas back behind John. „Let‘s go.“ Arthur said and strode over to Rachel, waiting for John to mount her first before following.

On the entirety of their ride back home Arthur had his face buried in Johns back, clinging firmly onto him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy, i hope you like this chapter. ive now made a few summaries for the 5 next chapters and im excited to write them for you!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hosea talks to Arthur about John.

Silence stretched out between Charles, John and Arthur on their tedious ride back to camp. Although he wasn‘t making any sound, Arthur could hear the delight humming between his two friends. It lay low, hanging onto the two riding men, catching Arthur into it as well. But deep within himself, there was still the smallest hint of grief lingering on. Grief that, with him still wandering this godforsaken earth, Sadie, John, everybody he knew and loved, would ride to the ends of the world for him. He didn‘t want to be the reason for their undoing.

But overshadowing that thought was another one. The thought of getting a second chance, a chance to do right for himself and the world. A chance of finally living instead of just surviving.

The soft thudding of the horses hooves and the constant rattling back and forth on Rachels back accompanied by Johns warm back against his face allowed him to relax for a stretch. 

Still clutching tightly onto John, he felt the others intakes of breaths, his shuddering against the cold and the steady beating of his heart. Distantly, he heard Charles gallop past them, taking the lead with Taima. No doubt he was hoping to arrive back at camp as soon as manageable to spread the word of Arthus wellbeing. Charles had always been the most passionate of the gang, the most good-natured and appreciative. He was fiercely loyal to the ones he loved and trusted and Arthur seemed to fit the bill just right. Being by his side for as long as he was made Arthur believe in the good of people and that they could all strive to be better and most importantly, fight. Fight for what was right and do right for others and try to provide the best possible future for everybody. They hadn‘t lost. Not yet.

Arthur was already slipping away into an unknowing universe when he felt Rachel slowly coming to a halt, dragging him back to his universe. The real one. The universe that hadn‘t givem them any more than life itself and then stopped caring for them. Maybe that was just Arthur, though. Maybe that was just the remembrance of his father slipping past his mind, getting caught in the web of his thought.

Occupied by thoughts of his father, he hadn‘t realized that John had already dismounted in front of him and was now holding out a calloused hand for him to take in his own. When Arthur grasped Johns hand to aid him in hopping off of the horse, which he could have done by himself but he appreciated the gesture, he felt a sting. It rushed up his arm, through his entire body. Then he decided that it didn‘t hurt but felt more like a spark flowing through him, calming his nerves.

John didn‘t seem to notice, as he gently helped Arthur dismounting and then clasped his hand onto his shoulder, leading him over to their family. Already from back at the entrance, Arthur could tell that they all already knew. Abigail had run over to him, enclosing him in a tight but careful hug. He closed his arms around he small frame and buried his face in her shoulder. „Oh, Arthur,“ she whispered into the side of his neck. One of her arms was slung around his neck, the other was hanging onto his hair, pulling it softly.

He felt her tears on his shoulder and wondered if that‘s what John had felt earlier at the doctors office. Sniffling, Abigail spoke again „I‘m so glad you‘re alright again.“ Starting to release himself from the grip he only answered with „Me too, sweetheart.“ She started wiping her eyes with her hands when Hosea came rushing over. 

Relief was the first thing recognizable in his voice „My boy.“ He didn‘t see the need in saying any more words, conveying his emotions in a hug. A stronger one than the one of Abigail but saying just the same.

Sadie had been the next to embrace him. Hers was only a fleeting one but just as powerful. Afterwards she clapped him onto the back, saying with her hoarse voice „Now I‘m stuck even longer with you.“ Even though those words had struck a cord within Arthur, he only smirked in return „Guess you are,“ he said.

After the family had celebrated Arthurs wellbeing well into the night, spending it in their common cabin drinking and singing, everybody had went to bed buzzing. Not only from the alcohol but from life. From the fact that for the first time in all of their lifetimes, something good had happened to them.

Abigail had taken in Sadie for the night again. The two were giggling from the alcohol, as though they were still young. Ignoring the fact that those times they could have had back then were robbed of them. Whether it was by people or by circumstances.

With Jack already sleeping, they had been careful stepping inside the home, although still stumbling slightly. There had been a second bed put up, undoubtedly one for Sadie, since they had already planned for her stay at the two storied house. It hadn‘t been used that night.

Wolves howling with the wind had woken Arthur up in the early morning. Groggily, he got to his feet, marching over to the small window in his room. One glance outside already revealed to him that there had been snowfall in the night. Not much but there was a sparkling white layer atop the grass outside. The window had streaks of water gathered on the bottom of the glass. Arthur slipped into his jeans, pulled his shirt over his head and shoved his revolver into the holster attached to he belt around his hips.

He took slow but deliberate steps out of his own room and into the bigger living room, making a beeline towards the furnace. Taking a quick glance around, he noticed some unused firewood underneath a table next to the chimney, along with some old newspapers lying on top of the table. He shoved some of the wood inside the furnace, afterwards he ripped up the newspaper, laying it on top of the wood. Standing back up, he fished a match our of his satchel, held onto the top of the furnace for balance and ignited the match on the sole of his shoe. He crouched back down, holding the rapidly burning match against the crumpled newspaper, making sure that it caught dire before dropping the burning wooden stick inside.

Then he dragged a chair over to sit on and just listen to the slow crackling of the fire. He heard all kinds of things. He heard John shuffling around in the room attached to the one he was sitting in. He heard Charles running outside, sometimes he stopped, panting deeply, before continuing on. Arthur heard the pulling and releasing of a bow and figured that Charles must be hunting for them. He heard the rustling of leaves outside and the dying howls of retreating wolves. He heard the change in atmosphere as the birds chirp took over the hows hoot. And he heard Abigail and Sadie talking about something he couldn‘t understand as they were making their way towards the common house, Jack running excitedly in front of them. 

Finally, he heard the opening of a door. It was close. And then he saw John. His hair was messy, tucked into a lazy bun, some streaks falling into his tired face still. Arthurs breathing hitched before saying „Morning.“ John waved him off while walking over towards him, pulling a chair with him to sit next to Arthur in front of the slowly dying fire. They were sitting close together, Arthur could hear Johns steady breathing. Calmly, he reached out to tuck one strand of Johns hair behind his ear. The other man just stared at him in response but quickly averted his gaze back to the fire.

Knocking on the door had ripped them both from their stupor. Hoseas voice soon rang serenely through the entire cabin „Arthur?“. Arthur replied with a simple „Yeah?“. „You fancy a quick stroll with an old man?“ came Hoseas question. Noticing Johns eyes watching him curiously, he answered with „Sure“ before standing up and putting on his coat. He cast a quick glance over towards John, seeing that he had already turned back towards the fire, fiddling with his fingers unsurely. Without saying anything, Arthur turned back around and left to meet the waiting Hosea.

„Hello there, Arthur.“ 

„Good morning,“ he decided to follow up with a question to avoid the topic as to why Hosea had wanted a chat in the first place „You liking this place?“

Hosea stuck his hands into the pockets of his coat, casting an appreciative look around their big camp „Yes, except for the cold it is a fairly beautiful place to live. It reminds me of our old camp up in the Grizzlies.“

Arthur dared to ask „What did you wanna talk to me about?“ 

Not looking at him, Hosea answered with „John.“ and after a pause he added „and you.“

Nerves started building up in Arthurs chest again. They were aflame, sending dreadful shivers down his spine. He was fairly sure that Hosea had noticed his acting towards John had change. The way his eyes wandered over to the other man every once in a while. They didn‘t use to do that. He didn‘t use to love John like that. Hosea was a man that observed and knew. Mainly he kept things he noticed to himself but he did always remember, just in case the information could be useful to him one day.

Interrupting his panic, Hosea calmy stated „I‘ve noticed you two have grown closer again. Almost the way you had been before he left.“

„Sure.“ Arthur didn‘t know what else to respond with.

„Listen, Arthur, don‘t keep doing this to yourself. Lord knows I could have had a wholly different life had I not been a coward for as long as I was. Had I told hi- her what I felt..“ he took a deep and shaky breath before starting up again. „Had I told her what I felt, I wouldn‘t have had to suffer the way I did. And I know that you are in agony, Arthur. I see it in your eyes everytime you look at him. And I don’t want you or anybody else having to feel this way.“

His mind was rattling, he was searching for words that weren‘t in his head, possibly not even in his vocabulary. He was blank. What was someone supposed to answer to something like this? „I-“, he tried. He sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes with a shaking hand. Even though they were wandering about in the woods with no one in near sight, Arthur glanced around warily. „I can‘t. He don‘t want me, besides he still got Abigail and Jack. I couldn‘t do nothing like that to them.“

Hosea stopped dead in his tracks, turning an unbelieving gaze towards his adoptive son. „You really are as dumb as you look.“

„Now what‘s that supposed to mean?“ Arthur struck back, confusion and anger clear in his voice.

Sighing deeply, Hosea explained „That boy has been in love with you since he was about 18. Abigail, she knows. She is a good woman, that Abigail, said she wanted the best for you two.“

„I don‘t-“

„Now let me speak, boy. I know because they told me, so don‘t try to tell me that it isn‘t true. I may be a robber and a killer but I ain‘t a liar, son. John told me when he was barely 19. He said it was one of the reasons he had left back then. Abigail figured out by herself.“

Arthur sighed deeply, his chest was aching. „Can we go back?“

„Sure, Arthur, but think about it, please. If not for yourself then do it for John. And Abigail and me.“

Nodding, Arthur started up his pace again, heading back to camp to help finishing packing up. Hoseas words nagged at him the entire way back, turning all his other thoughts and memories sour. His world was ripped out of its hinges and he didn‘t know where to hold on to.

That‘s when he noticed John rounding the corner of their temporary home, grinning at Arthur, and that‘s when Arthur decided that this was everything he‘d need to keep himself afloat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy again, thank you for everyones nice comments and kudos, i didnt expect for people to actually like this as much!  
> And also, ive now started editing the existent chapters, hopefully ill get the corrected version of chapter 1 up today!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family gets some unexpected guests.

Before Arthur could go to John, Johns grin faded away as quickly as it had appeared. There were people riding into camp, rapidly and with purpose. Gunshots. John shot a panicked look towards Arthur before turning around and running into cover behind the wall of their house, taking his revolver out of its holster in the process.

„Arthur! Arthur, we need to hide!“ Hosea shouted to him in a panic, reaching his hand out for his son.

But Arthur didn‘t listen, he crouched down and crawled his way towards John, taking his gun out of its holster as well.

The first thing reaching Arthurs ears was Johns voice, whisper screaming at him „What are you doing, Morgan?!“

„Helping you,“ he replied nonchalantly, ducking down next to John.

Sighing defeatedly, John made his way over across the street and behind the opposite house, Arthur covering him the entire time. Hearing gunshots from up above, Arthur spotted Bill by the window of the second story of the last house, shooting at the intruders. At the window next to him was Kieran, doing the same, albeit a bit clumsily.

Arthur glanced up from his cover, now realizing that their intruders were Pinkertons. All of them were still sitting on their horses, shooting down on them. Looking back towards John, Arthur noticed Sadie now standing next to him, firing at the Pinkertons alongside John. John was leaning against the wall with Sadie standing in front of him, still hidden behind the wall but capable of shooting at the Pinkertons. Once in a while she would take a few steps back and fully hide behind the house wall, reloading her gun and cursing to John. 

Peeking out again swiftly, Arthur scoped out their enemies. Realizing that they hadn‘t noticed him yet, he decided to shoot from his cover, taking out as many as he could.

The Pinkertons horses whinnyied, stomping around nervously. One after the other, the lawmen dismounted their horses and got into cover behind walls or logs. Hearing somebody sneaking up on him, Arthur quickly turned and raised his gun, ready to shoot at whomever it was. It turned out to only be Javier, who had previously been hiding behind a log lying on the ground. The two nodded at each other before firing again. Soon enough, Arthur glanced over towards John and Sadies hiding spot again, noticing that they weren‘t occupying it anymore. Must have went into the house to shoot from there, Arthur presumed. It would make for a better cover.

The family had already taken out 8 of the 14 Pinkertons, the remaining ones an easy target now, when Arthur noticed that two of the remaining ones were absent. He looked all over, listened intently but wasn’t able to detect their whereabouts. Soon after this, two Pinkertons showed themselves, they had wandered out of cover from behind the house across from Arthurs. Each of them held somebody hostage, their guns pressed closely to their temples. They had Sadie and John.

Arthur overheard their shouts, saying that two would be enough for now and that they‘d be returning at a later time and that they had to retreat now. And that‘s what they did. The two Pinkertons holding John and Sadie captive tied the two up and stowed them onto their horses, knowing that they wouldnt be shot at as long as they had the two in front of them. Then they left, leaving the family alone with two members less than before. 

Not knowing what else to do, Arthur ran over to Rachel, mounting her and riding after the Pinkertons, only to be stopped by Charles, standing in the middle of the road, blocking him by holding his hands out in front of him. Rachel instantly stopped in her tracks, rearing and whinnying.  
„Arthur, you can‘t go there alone.“ is what Charles said.

Taking a deep breath before answering, he replied with „They took John and Sadie.“ His voice radiated regret and grief.

„I know.“ Charles sighed, „but we need a plan before we just go riding into Clowerton to get them back. We can‘t risk it, Arthur.“

Reluctantly, he gave in. Sighing with deep regret, he got off of Rachels back, patting her neck before leading her back to the post she had been hitched on. He kept on standing by her side, stroking her neck and feeding her some mints, talking to het calmingly.

Charles‘ voice rang through the clearing „Let‘s meet up with the others. They‘re all in the common house waiting for us.“ He had followed Arthur to the hitching post quietly and on slow steps.

„Sure.“ Then he followed Charles without another word.

Inside, there was chaos. Everybody was shouting, Bill the loudest, Kieran was trying to calm him down, Abigail was yelling as well and Hosea was trying to get everybody to calm down and listen to him. Somewhere, Arthur could hear something break. Nobody else seemed to give it any attention. „Everybody listen! This isn‘t the first time something like this has happened and it will certainly not be the last.“ Hosea said as loudly as he could, managing to get everybody to look at him. Jack was clutching scaredly onto the sleeve of Abigails shirt, with Abigail softly stroking his cheek with her free hand, trying to calm him down the best she could.

„It is the first time that they have just come into our camp and kidnapped two of us.“ Lenny interjected, his voice calm despite everything. Arthur could see past his calm demeanor, Lenny was raging.

„Yes, it is. And that is why tomorrow, everybody except for Abigail, Jack, Kieran and me is going to ride down there and free those bastards. Us four are going to pack everything up here and get ready to leave. And then we will move someplace else.“

„And where?“ Abigail asked tersely. Shrugging, Hosea said „We will have to see.“

After a long sigh, Hosea said „Now let‘s all go get a bit of a rest and at the first light tomorrow, the rescue is on.“

Wrestling with his thoughts and his desire to run out right now to get back John and Sadie, Arthur slowly stepped out of the common home and wandered over to his own hut, his steps leaving behind footprints in the dirty snow.

Despite the day having worn him out drastically, Arthur couldn‘t manage to fall asleep the way he used to. Thinking about John and Sadie and what could happen to them every minute that they haven‘t been saved gnawed on every single fiber of his body. He tried falling asleep to the outside sounds but even though the owls hooting and the howling of one lone wolf calmed him down minutely, it wasn‘t enough to make him let go and fall asleep. The howling of the lone wolf grew louder, more desperate, Arthur thought he knew how the wolf felt.

After long hours of tossing and turning in his bed, Arthur managed to fall asleep to the quiet whistling of the wind blowing through the trees.

On the next morning, he got up and put on his clothes in a haste. Walking outside, he noticed that there had been more snow falling during the night. It was still dark outside, the only source of light were the moon and the myriad of stars, but the moon was slowly sinking, making room for the sun to return.

He pulled the collar of his jacket up and covered his neck with it, keeping out the wind still blowing. Upon his arrival at the communal hut, he had everybodys heads turning towards him. They had all been waiting for him already. Everybody except for Bill and Kieran, who rushed through the door only minutes later. 

Hosea chose to take the lead „Now that everybodys gathered here, let‘s discuss what we will be doing.“

Everybody turned to the older man, looking at him in anticipation. „Now you lot are going to ride down to Clowerton but try to keep a low profile.“ He made sure to look at everybody individually when he demanded for them to not get any attention onto themselves before he continued with „Lenny and Javier, you two are going into the sheriffs office to distract the lawmen and check if Sadie and John are there. You will give Bill, who will be waiting outside, a signal to continue if the two are there. If Bill gets the signal, he will leave and meet up with the others at the back of the sheriffs office. After, Charles and Arthur are going to sneak inside to retrieve John and Sadie as quietly as you can. Now if they do notice, you will still have backup at every possible side. Everybody clear?“

Hosea was greeted by nods and words of affirmation, then he continued „Now Abigail, Jack, Kieran and me are going to stay here and pack up everything that we can find, every single thing that could be of use. We will have to leave soon after your return.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy everyone! sorry for the long wait but you know christmas and everything and i also have to draw a whole lot for school so my schedule is a bit full lately!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family goes on their mission to rescue John and Sadie.

Arthur was fierce and passionate and desperate. He fought for what he believed in and he fought for the ones he loved. And fight he would. When it meant saving people he cared about and loved, Arthur would fight until the waters were red and the ground was covered in bones. Rachel panted and wheezed as Arthur set a fast pace, riding ahead of everybody else. The stomping of hooves behind him was but a distant sound. Something not worth paying attention to. The outlaw would rather listen to the birds singing beautiful tunes or to the way the stones flicked off of the road when he rode past them. Sounds like those made him feel focused whilst hooves clashing behind him oftentimes reminded him of being followed and chased. Today, he would be the one doing the chasing.

Upon their arrival, Arthur rode straight towards the back of the sheriffs office, not bothering to wait for the others to follow. He slung his legs over Rachel and jumped off of her tall back and onto the wet dirt, resulting in a squelching sound. Charles met up with him mere minutes later, although without Taima in tow. „Ready?“ He asked in a loud whisper, getting a nod from Arthur in return. Without saying anything else, Charles went to the edge of the house, peeking out and looking towards Bills position. Waiting for the signal. 

It came with the exaggerated reach for a cigarette, in which Bill subtly reached out two of his fingers in a clear message. Charles passed on the signal, over to Arthur, who then quickly glanced inside one of the windows, making sure that they were in the clear. „Charles!“ He whispered, loud enough for the man in question to hear but at the same time quiet enough for nobody else to. Starting to pick the lock, Arthur hurried as much as he could, not wanting to waste any time left. 

Once opened, Arthur quietly slid open the door and stepped inside, motioning for Charles to follow. He was crouching slowly towards the cell doors. Quickly exchanging a look with Lenny and then with Charles, confirmed for Arthur that they were all in agreement to go off plan. Arthur positioned himself behind one of the four men in the room, Charles behind the other. The two quickly knocked the men unconscious, Javier and Lenny reacted just as quickly in doing the same to the remaining two. „Easier that way.“ Javier said, satisfied. 

Rustling somewhere off caught their attention and all of their eyes were set onto the cells. „Finally! Was wondering what was taking you so long!“ Sadie complained but her voice gave her relief away. Next to her stood John, equally as relieved as her.

They asked the two cell inmates if they knew of the whereabouts of the keys but as they both didnt, all of them went on to search the four men lying on the floor. None of them found anything so they moved on to looking through the entire house, throwing cabinets open and rustling through them.

„Found 'em.“ Lenny said excitedly, quickly rushing to the cells to open them. 

Sadie and John ran out of the cells and led the way out of the back of the sheriffs office. As soon as John was outside, he spotted Rachel, he threw a glance towards Arthur but didn‘t say anything. Arthur just opened his mouth, wanting to say something but he couldn‘t come up with anything, so he just raised his hands in defeat. John quickly hopped onto Rachels back, taking the reins into his hands and waiting for Arthur to follow. And Arthur did. He mounted up behind John, clutching the others waist tightly. 

Sadie was sitting on the back of Taima, behind Charles. She laughed, looking at John, who returned it.

The ride back felt refreshing. For Arthur, it felt like the first breath he took after defeating tuberculosis all over again. A release, a relief.

As soon as they rode back into camp they were greeted by Hosea, Abigail, Jack and Kieran. Hosea was the first to greet them, saying „There they are!“. He quickly marched over and hugged both Sadie and John. The next thing that happened took everybody slightly by surprise.

Abigail rushed forward, holding onto her skirt tightly and ran into Sadie. She clutched Sadies face tightly in her hands and kissed her fiercely. Sadie grasped Abigails wrists and held onto her tightly. Everybody around them averted their eyes and went on to prepare the horses for their moving.

„I was scared they was gonna hurt you.“ Abigail whispered against Sadies lips when they pulled apart. The blonde softly stroked Abigails wrists with her thumbs. „I wouldn‘t have let them.“ They shared a fond smile, their foreheads leaning against each other.

They were interrupted by Arthur, who cleared his throat to get their attention. The two women shared one last longing glance before they turned to Arthur. „We're ready to leave.“ He announced currly before leaving again, walking straight towards John and Hosea.

Afterwards, everybody got onto a carriage or onto their horse. They soon started moving, first towards Sadie, John and Arthurs old and lonely house to collect everything that they had left there and then soon moved on, off of the mountains and into the green.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, friends. im sorry for all of the short chapters lately i will try to write longer ones again soon!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally finds a new place to settle down.

Finding a spacious and hidden enough spot turned to be a tedious task as they rode for days with their carriages in tow and unable to find a suitable place. Lenny had the idea of returning to one of their former spots but Hosea and Javier quickly refused, saying that they could not risk it. So they continued their travel. Once in a while, they would be accompanied by deer sprinting alongside their horses, or by twittering birds flying above them. After three days of their search, Hosea had called for a stop, being the one who led the first carriage. 

He climbed off of the carriage and took a look around, deeming the place as adequate for them. „Now, what do you think of this?“ He asked towards the rest of the gang, raising his arms as if showing off the spot. It reminded Arthur of Horseshoe Overlook. It was quiet and located within a family of trees ranging from small to giant and nearby was a cliff, overlooking a lake that Arthur couldn‘t recognize. „Where are we?“ He asked Hosea, to which the older man answered with „Near Hollow Hill, my boy,“ patting Arthur on the shoulder, he marched past him and helped unpacking their tents.

The remainder of the shining sun was used to set up all of their few tents. Since Abigail had announced that Sadie would accompany her and Jack in theirs, they had one more free one, which they decided to use as a replacement one, should another one get damaged in any way. 

Arthurs tent was big enough for three people to lie in and the man was not quite sure why he was given such a big one, since others would appreciate it much more greatly than he did. Nevertheless, he was grateful to have a roof above his head at all and settled on moving his belongings inside. They weren‘t much but Arthur didn‘t need many things to be content, happy even. 

He decided to step back out when he heard Hosea talking loudly to someone, being backed up by Sadie occasionally. As he stepped outside he was facing the back of a new figure standing in the middle of their new camp, conversing with Hosea. By the expression on everybodys faces, the figure couldn‘t be a very welcome guest. Arthur looked at Sadie, who was the one with the most neutral appearance, and when she returned his gaze, Arthur realized who it was.

Just as he wanted to speak up, the man turned around, having noticed Sadie looking towards something at his back. „Arthur!“

„Dutch,“ Arthur countered, his face unreadable. 

Then Dutch took a few steps towards him, his arms outstretched welcomingly „I hadn‘t hoped to see you again, son,“ he spoke in a relieved voice, a big grin plastered on his face.

Arthur dodged the mans hug, shoving his arms away, wiping the smile off of Dutchs face in seconds. „What‘re ya doing here, Dutch?“ He demanded.

„Just checking up on everybody. The gang has shrunken, I see.“ Dutch observed, taking a long look around, facing everybody standing in front of him. His smile returned. 

„Ain‘t our fault,“ Arthur replied, voice threateningly deep, resonating in the trees embrace. 

„Didn‘t say that, son,“ he took a pause before continuing „For all it‘s worth, I‘m sorry.“

„It ain‘t worth shit, Dutch. Get out of here.“ Dutchs expression turned sour, angry at others for something he had brought onto himself. „I had expected a warmer welcome,“ he glanced over his shoulder towards Hosea meaningfully. And with that, he shouldered Arthur aside and mounted the Count. He held two fingers up to his hat in a mocking salute and rode off. 

A heavy weight was lifted off of the gangs shoulders as the man who had possessed their loyalty for so many years left again. Differently than the last time, he was asked to leave instead of being begged to stay. 

Arthur walked over to Hosea, said „we gotta talk,“ and then left for his tent, not making sure the other was following since he heard his slow footsteps echoing behind himself. 

„What was that?“ Arthur demanded, keeping his voice low. Hosea was grasping for words, looking around for help, before saying „We used to- I used to love him, Arthur.“ 

„We all did, Hosea,“ Arthur replied, his expression now bewildered before Hosea answered with „Not like that.“ 

A wave of realization flooded Arthur and he thought about everything. The time before the gang, where it had always seemed as though Hosea thought Dutch had handmade all of the stars and the moon, all of those times that Hosea was unfalteringly loyal, even through Dutchs deteriorating sanity. They all made sense to Arthur now. „Did he-" Hosea quickly interrupted his question „A long time ago, yes.“

„Hosea, I‘m sorry,“ it was all that Arthur was able to come up with. He didn‘t know what else to say. The older man smiled reassuringly at him „It‘s quite alright, my boy.“ And with another, longer, pat on his shoulder, Hosea left the tent. And if the man had wiped at his eyes while exiting, Arthur didn‘t mention it.

Deciding to just settle down for a while, Arthur decided to join John, Abigail and Charles at the campfire they had set up. They all sat in silence, listening to the fire crackle and watching the lake glistening underneath the tender moonlight. Javier soon joined the four, a guitee held firmly in his hands. When Abigail examined his guitar curiously, Javier said „Bought it in Clowerton before the Pinkertons overran us.“ Abigail gave a small smile and a nod in return. Javier settled down on the ground, his back leaning against one of the logs, and began strumming a beautiful, slow tune on his guitar. The sound engulfed the camp and settled a calm atmosphere. Everyone was finally able to rest for the first time in a long while. 

When Arthur started fighting with his eyes to stay open, he bid a good night to the remaining ones at the fire and left for his tent. And although he heard it, he didn‘t acknowledge the person following him. Entering his tent, he held open the entrance for John to step inside after him. The two settled onto Arthurs bed roll silently, sitting next to each other contently, John to Arthurs left. Neither of them said anything, solely enjoying the company and enjoying not being alone. „What do ya think Dutch wanted?“ John answered in a quiet whisper, turning his head to look at Arthur, their gazed meeting. „Most likely just announce that he was still around.“ John snorted at Arthurs answer and turned his head back again, staring in front of him, not focusing on anything except for Arthurs breathing. John took this time to marvel at the progression of Arthurs well being. Only a few weeks ago, his breathing was still more of a wheeze than anything else but now it sounded calm and steady.

John listened to the still crackling fire outside and to the quiet whispers from the tent next to Arthurs. He watched dust falling to the ground before he lost sight of it and watched the flaps of the tent swing open sporadically when the wind blew against it. He opted to look at Arthur again, studying the features of his face, watching as Arthur huffed and looked to the ground. John turned his upper body towards Arthur and reached out his left hand and turned Arthurs face towards him and Arthur let him. Ocean blue met deep brown as John leaned in, slowly but determinedly. When their lips met, John felt as though he was flying. Arthurs lips were chapped but pleasantly tender at the same time. It took a few seconds for Arthur to process what was happening but when he did, he kissed back gently, his hands found the sides of Johns neck, as Johns right one started stroking Arthurs hair, his left still clinging onto the older mans cheek.

Pulling away to breathe again, John rested his forehead against Arthurs. His eyes were still closed, letting Arthur admire his calm face, taking in every detail of him. From all the tiny scars amongst the big ones to the way his lips curved into a tiny smile. 

Arthur started lowering them both down onto the bedroll, resting his head on Johns chest. That night, he fell asleep against the steady beating of Johns heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you‘re welcome


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old friend shows back up, bringing some unwanted attention onto the gang.

The morning sun arose and shone atop the small camp, waking Arthur peacefully from his deep slumber. He tried to sit up but soon realized that John had a possessive grip on him, both of his arms enclosing Arthur against his chest. Arthur opted to simply lie back down and enjoy what time he had left of the peacefulness, the heavy rising of Johns chest calming him back into a rest.

A loud and raspy laugh woke both of the sleeping men up simultaneously. They shared a quick glance before they exited the tent and what they saw was Uncle, stumbling around the camp, laughing to himself and greeting everybody. „You ain‘t getting rid of me that easily!“ he yelled while chuckling. Unsurprisingly, he held a bottle in his right hand that he slung around with every step, single drops sloshing out of it each and every time.

Sean walked right up to him and snatched the bottle out of the old mans hand, taking a long sip of it, sighing contently after, making Uncle protest „That‘s medicine for my lumbago!“ Sean laughed in response, saying „Yer a crazy man, Mister.“

And that‘s when Arthur decided that he couldn‘t take it anymore and intervened with „All right, old man. Just, get a hold of yourself, god damnit.“ He gripped the others shoulders and led him to the not yet lit campfire and sat him down onto one of the logs. Although nobody had expected for Uncle to just show up, none of them was surprised in the slightest and just went on with their days. Arthur would never admit it, but it felt more like home when Uncle was around.

Everybody went about their daily chores, Arthur helping out everywhere he could since he was never assigned any regular chores. He spotted Sadie and Abigail sitting by the campfire and greeted them heartily, plopping himself down on the log opposite to theirs, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. Abigail had her hands resting in Sadies lap with Sadies own covering them. Arthur smiled at noticing it. „How is little Jack doing?“ He asked fondly, to which both women smiled tenderly „He really loves Sadie and even started calling her his mother.“ Abigail answered, her voice emitting utmost love and care for her son and her partner. „I‘m happy to hear that.“ Arthur replied and Sadie started stroking Abigails hand with her thumb. She took one of Abigails hands and pressed a loving kiss against her palm, drawing a heartfelt laugh out of Abigail. 

„I‘m happy that you two‘s found each other.“ Arthur stated, making both women turn back to him with tender smiles on their faces. „Thanks, Arthur,“ said Sadie finally. „How are-"

„Well, look at that!“ a new voice rung out through the camp, sounding smug. Footsteps accompanied the voice. And many of them. Everybody turned their heads towards the noise and was faced with Micah, standing in front of fifteen Pinkertons, their firearms already raised and aimed at every single member of the gang. „You know, I didn‘t think my morning could get even better but turns out I was wrong!“ The blond yelled cheerfully, his voice seemingly getting louder with each word.

Charles was the first one to step up, saying „How did you find us, Micah?“ in his infinitely calm voice, although a mighty rage was seething underneath it, showing itself by the way he was standing. His arms by his side, fists clenched and close to the holsters on his belt, his back straightened to the brim and his chin slightly lowered. 

„Your.. friend over there led me right to ya!“ the absolute mirth in his voice drove Arthur to the brink of madness. The grin on the mans face grew with every hateful glance that was thrown towards him and his voice got happier with each fearful one.

Micah stepped aside and motioned for the Pinkertons to step forward, he said „Do your work, men.“ and went into cover just as the Pinkertons started shooting. Javier sprung up, charging at Uncle, who, in his drunken state, hadn‘t realized what was happening, and pulled him down and into cover behind one of their carriages. Sadie had pulled Abigail down and, with a last frantic kiss, had shot upwards to shoot back. Arthur crawled forward to the two and joined Sadie in firing back. 

The Pinkertons were all standing in the middle of the meadow, their guns blazing, white and yellow light striking as bullets were thrown out of the barrels. Each and every shot rang heavily in Arthurs ear, and with each passing one he feared more. Every now and again he would look around frantically, searching the entire camp over until he had spotter everybody and had assured himself that nobody was hurt.  
One by one the Pinkertons fell, their bodies thudding lowly on the grass, staining it red with their blood, seeping into the ground. Sating the soil with liquid to let new flowers and herbs grow, something beautiful arising out of cruelty.  
Soon enough, as the ground was covered with limp bodies and flowing red, Micah was the only one remaining.   
But he was nowhere to be seen. Arthur spotted John carefully getting out of his cover behind a tree in the woods they were surrounded by. It quickly dawned on Arthur what he was doing, he was searching for Micah. The man even went as far as to turn around the already deceased bodies to be certain that Micah was not amongst them.  
He sprang around the entire camp,   
yelling for Micah to stop being a coward and show himself. Then as John was out of sight behind a tent, Arthur heard a piercing gunshot. And then nothing.

The next thing he heard was footsteps in quick succession, running into the dense forest. Seeing a black leather jacket running away cowardly, Arthur unholstered his gun and shot, taking the figure down. When he found John, he was lying on the ground, clutching onto his side and wincing as blood seeped out of him. Arthur kneeled down next to him, breathing heavily, feeling a cough wanting to rip out of him but he willed it down the best he could. Tears started welling up in his eyes as he lifted Johns hand to look at the wound, his hand was stained red and so was his shirt. Arthur quickly pressed Johns hands back onto his wounds, his own covering them, pushing onto the would in an attempt to stop the bleeding. 

„Hosea!“ He shouted, his voice quivering. Hosea quickly ran up to the both and crouched down next to John the way that Arthur was still. „We need- We need help!“ Arthur shouted again and people started to rush over. Charles, Javier and Sean picked up John as carefully as they could and carried him to his tent, lying him onto the soft fabric of his bedroll. Arthur had been standing nearby the entire time, watchful and scared and angry. Soon enough that anger rose up, overshadowing all of the other emotions and he strode out of the tent, nose flaring. With quick and heavy steps he stormed towards the still lying form of Micah Bell. As he approached he noticed the mans attempts at crawling away so Arthur put an end to it by stepping onto his back with one foot.

He shoved against Micahs side, turning him around, staring right into Micahs grinning face. „Kill your lover boy, huh?“ He wheezed through heavy breaths.

Arthur answered with a simple „No.“ before he pulled out his revolved and crouched down next to Micah. He positioned his gun right in the middle of Micahs forehead and after hearing one final cackle of the man, he pulled the trigger. The shot rang through the entire forest and the clearing, reverberating inside of Arthurs chest. Everybody in camp had turned towards the sound, rejoicing quietly withing themselves at the death of Micah Bell. 

Arthur prodded at the mans dead body with his boot before he left for Johns tent again. Before he could enter he was met by Hosea, who prevented him from entering, pulling him aside by his shoulders. „He will be all right in a few days but he needs to rest now.“ he explained calmly, wiping off a few drops of sweat at his forehead with the back of his hand.

„Can I-" Hosea interrupted him „Yes, go inside.“ He squeezed Arthurs shoulder firmly before he smiled at him and left to help the others in getting rid of the of bodies.

This night, Arthur didn‘t fall asleep to Johns soft and steady heartbeat, instead he fell asleep gripping the others hand tightly, praying for him to not leave him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, friends. i hope you enjoy this chapter!  
> i think this story will be complete with about 17 chapters and im already excited to write the last few!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something to relieve you all

When Arthur heard a sharp inhale of breath and felt his loose hand being squeezed, he startled awake to see John trying to sit up, hunched over with his hand pressed tightly onto the bandages embracing him underneath his chest. Arthur quickly straightened up in his chair, leaning forward to help John sit up in his cot, his hand firmly but carefully pushing against the others shoulders. Previously, Arthur had suggested that they exchange Johns bedroll for his own cot to make the injured man as comfortable as possible. He didn‘t mention that he knew he wouldn‘t be needing his cot for as long as John was healing anyways. All he needed was a chair and to be sat next to John, making sure his heart was continuing to beat.

„Arthur, what-" Chapped lips latching onto his own interruped Johns question, making him swallow it back down and forget about it entirely. Arthur fully taking over his mind like a virus spreading through his brain, infecting all of his thoughts. He reached his quivering hand up and enclosed Arthurs stubbled cheek with it, caressing his face reassuringly. He felt a tear connect with his the skin on his thumb and in response wiped it away and pulled the other man impossibly closer. Leaning forward proved to be a bad decision, as it sent a sharp pain through his stomach. He winced as a result and Arthur pulled back entirely. 

„I‘m sorry, I didn‘t mean to hurt you. Are you okay? I‘m so sorry, I-" His nervous rambling was brought to an end by John pulling him back in by grabbing both sides inbetween his hands and tugging him forward. Saying „It‘s okay, it‘s okay. Come here,“ over and over again, like a mantra, John pulled him back into a tender kiss.

Afraid of hurting his lover again, Arthur kept his hands at his sides, supporting his body leaning forward by holding onto his chair tightly, his knuckles turning pale. 

After John broke away from the kiss, he pressed many more small ones against Arthurs face. His forehead, his cheeks, the tip of his nose, his eyelids and lastly, a soft one onto his lips again. Arthur held his eyes closed the entire time, focusing on not letting any more tears fall. „It‘s okay, Arthur. I‘m here.“

Sniffling and scrunching up his nose, Arthur slowly pulled away, saying that he will get John something to eat and drink, and quickly left the tent, leaving John sitting by himself in the dimly lit space. 

It was dark outside since it was still fairly early in morning. The stars were still shining brightly, accompanying the moon in its task of lightening up the earth for those in need of it. Arthur stumbled to the big pot that Tilly and Sean had prepared stew in the day before to see if there was any left but was met with disappointment, as the pot was as empty as the day they had stolen it. Taking a deep breath, he wandered over to their food carriage, rummaging around in the many chests they had taken with them and found a can of baked beans. Deeming it better than nothing, or better than stale crackers, which were also present in the chest, he continued searching around the carriage for a bucket of drinking water. After finding it, he filled a cup up and balanced it over to Johns tent.

As it turned out, Javier was already awake, leaning against one of the bigger trees next to his tent, smoking a cigarette contently. After having met Arthurs gaze, he nodded towards Johns tent in a silent question, Arthur nodded as a response and got one back in return. And then he entered the tent.

„Only found some beans if that‘s alright.“ He said, looking at the can in his hand contemplatively before he sat back down on his chair. „And some water,“ he added, lifting his hand with the cup, showing it to John. While he had been gone, John had lit up two candles that were now shining dimly on the wooden box set up next to the bed as a nightstand. John smiled tightly at Arthur and said „That‘s fine. Thank you, Arthur.“

After handing the cup of water over to John, he took his knife out of its sheath on his belt and wedged it underneath the top of the container and opened it without applying much strength. He held it out for John, who, in turn, set the already empty cup of water onto the nightstand and cupped the can between both of his hands upon grasping it. After having eaten half of the beans by angling the can to his mouth and letting the contents fall into his mouth, he sighed contently. He placed the half unfinished can next to the cup on the nightstand before he went to lie back down, groaning and grunting while doing so, his left hand coming up to grasp at his bandaged wound. 

„Come here,“ he broke the silence in a soft whisper, reaching his hand out to Arthur. „Lie with me.“ 

Arthur obliged reluctantly. He lay down in front of John, under his outstretched arm, facing him.

„How‘s your wound?“ Arthur asked worriedly, pulling his hand up to cradle Johns scarred cheek, tracing along each of the whitened marks.

John answered by smiling, his eyes crinkling, and breathing out „doing good.“

„A gunshot to the liver and you is doing fine and dandy but you gets scratched by some wolves and yer almost a corpse. You fascinate me, Marston.“ There was no malice in his voice, not the slightest hint of it, just fondness and amusement. „Ain‘t got a reason to live back then.“ John answered, a fierce glint sparkling in his eyes. 

„Yer an idiot,“ Arthur drawled, his accent shining through brightly, before leaning in to press his lips to Johns dry ones. 

After they parted, they stayed close together, their noses brushing against each other ever so slightly, breathing the same air. Arthur was still stroking Johns cheek absentmindedly. 

„What happened to Micah?“ Arthur would have preffered to not be reminded of that man, so he sighed heavily and breathed through his nose angrily before he replied. „Shot that bastard in the face," he simply stated, resulting in a blissful reaction of Johns. He chuckled and said „Finally“.

Without replying, Arthur shuffled further down on the cot, his head now facing the other mans heaving chest. He pressed his forehead against it, feeling every breath John took. He let his hand wander down from Johns face and onto his neck, holding onto him tightly, as John pulled him closer by his waist. Then, John turned onto his back, tugging Arthur with him. Arthur let himself be guided by John, his head lying on Johns chest, minding the wound as to not hurt him in any way. 

As Arthur listened to the whistling of somebody nearby, possibly Hosea getting up, he relaxed against Johns chest. Soon after, he felt John moving, followed by a kiss being pressed against his hair. Then, John started brushing through his hair with his fingers, combing through a few knots in Arthurs shoulder length hair. He would have to trim it sometime soon, Arthur thought. 

The older man started caressing Johns side, his thumb tracing tiny shapes into the warm skin. He hummed and shifted his head to kiss the concave in the middle of Johns chest, then rested his head back onto it.

And thus he fell asleep to John stroking his hair and listening to the rhythmic whistling from outside, his head lifting and sinking with Johns breathing. 

And there, in Johns arms, his jeart felt at home. The constant calling for something Arthur had deemed impossible to attain had finally simmered down to a pleasing feeling of calmness and satisfaction. Arthur had lost so many and so much and there will eternally be this anticipation of getting the rug of a good life being ripped out from underneath his feet but when he laid like this, reassuringly listening to the still beating heart of the one he loved, he felt at peace, if only for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaa i really loved writing this its so sweet


	16. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its really just fluffy and somebody we all love makes a short visit.

A few months have passed since Micahs entrance and timely death. And all that was left of the cruel man was an ugly scar amongst many on Johns skin. Through this time, the camp had gone through many changes; big and small. One massive adjustement had been the decision to discontinue their lives as criminals, kidnappers, and murderes. They had agreed on turning a blind eye to petty thefts, such as pickpocketing once in a while but overall what they wanted for themselves was a quiet life, away from trouble and death. And mainly living off of honest money. 

Therefore, Sadie and Arthur had found themselves useful at a nearby ranch, providing for their lovers whilst they took care of Jack at their home. Abigail and John had agreed to do so, being the parents to Jack that the boy deserved. Even if Jack switched to calling John „Uncle John“ and calling Sadie „Mother“. 

The rancher Sadie and Arthur worked for was called Alfred Ricket, and he was a decent fellow and paid well. He had hired Arthur as a caretaker of his many horses and Sadie as a helping hand in all kinds of things. And Sadie never failed to surprise the man with her abilities and skills in things that a woman should normally keep her hands out of. Her only reaction would be a smug grimace and the rising of her eyebrows, almost a challenge. Afterwards, Sadie would almost always get a small raise, making Arthur gasp in feigned hurt every time. 

Once in a while, Arthur would visit Albert Mason in his secluded cabin and share in stories together and look at all of the photographs that Albert had taken on his dangerous quest of capturing the wilds beauty. Sometimes Albert would even visit them at camp, he got along fantastically with Charles and Hosea, all sharing a passionate love for nature and a fascination for all living creatures. And when Arthur and John weren‘t looking, Albert sometimes took a picture of the two, sitting closely together, huddled in front of the fire, whispering secrets into each others ears. The red and yellow light from the fire made the two look infinite and cast a shadow of calmness over them, which, in Alberts right opinion, made for a beautiful picture. 

He had taken to visiting the family every few months, trotting in on his horse with a loud greeting, camera always stuffed inside his satchel. Every so often, he would carry photographs of the gang that he had taken with him and presented them to the ones he had captured. Just as he had on a shining afternoon, his horse already announcing his arrival. After greeting everybody, he had wandered to Sadie and Abigail and handed them a photograph. Abigail had made a puzzled face when she reached out for the piece of thick paper, turning it over to see herself and Sadie. It had been a quiet day when it was taken, she remembered. In the picture, she had her head resting on Sadies shoulder and in front of them stood Jack, showing them with a drawing he had made. 

On the drawing were five stickfigures, one smaller than the others. One of them had a face littered with scars, next to him stood one with a scruffy face and a grumpy expression, on his head a hat. In the middle stood the smaller one, a big smile drawn onto his face, and he was holding onto the hand of a woman to his left, who was wearing a skirt and had long, brown hair, and next to her stood a woman with similar attire to the scruffy mans with blonde hair. Abigail remembered how tears had sprung into her eyes upon inspecting the drawing, and how she showed it off to Sadie, Arthur and John. 

The drawing still hung in Abigail, Sadie and Jacks tent. Sadie had pushed a rusty nail through the fabric and the paper and fixed it by bending the nail on the back. 

Albert grinned widely at Abigail as she showed the drawing to Sadie, who was resting next to her, cleaning her gun, which she occasionally used for hunting.

Abigail stood up and embraced Albert tightly, whispering „Thank you,“ into his ear before making it her mission to hang the photograph up in the same manner as the drawing itself. 

And after sitting by the fire and laughing with the rest of the camp, Albert made his way back home, his nerves all alight and buzzing from bliss.

A few days after Alberts last visit, Arthur decided to ride into the nearby town of Ardel with Charles. They wanted to purchase medicine and before they had left, Javier asked them to see if there were any bounty posters up that he could tend to. Although they did not spot any bounty posters hung up, they did find a familiar face amongst the many others. 

Mary-Beth had been walking through the towns muddy street, leading her horse, when Charles spotted her. He told Arthur and, without waiting for a reaction, made his way over to the wandering woman.

As soon as she spotted the two, a big grin broke out in her spotless face. „Charles! Arthur!“ She yelled before dropping her horses reins and hugging the two successively.

„How are you, Mary-Beth?“ Charles asked. 

She smiled airily, sighing, before she said „I‘m doing good. Been living and working in a hotel here. How are you fellers? It‘s been a long time.“

And so they caught up with each other. As they parted, all three of them had felt a heavy weight lifting off their shoulders. Charles and Arthur had learned that Tilly and Karen were both doing fine. The two found themselves a good home and honest work. Mary-Beth had assured them that they all kept in touch and kept out of trouble. She did also mention that, from time to time, the urge to steal something would grip her, and occasionally she would give in. But she also said that the two knew her, and they know that she was careful and had yet to be caught. She suggested they meet up again, and planned on asking Tilly and Karen to accompany het in visiting the camp. Before they parted, Charles and Arthur wished Mary-Beth well, and she answered by gripping the reins of her horse and saying „likewise,“ before tipping her head and moving along, smiling through it all. 

After having bought what they had gone to Arden for, Charles and Arthur mounted their horses again and made for their way back home. Arthur had gotten himself a horse at last. She was a beautiful black Arabian, not unlike the horse Arthur had previously owned. He had named her Apollonia. 

Riding through the towns busy streets was quite something. On every corner, there stood somebody. Be it for collecting money for a good cause or for themselves, or be it for just lounging about, admirin the view or reading a newspaper. The sun hit Arthur in the eyes and he had to pull his hat down further to cast a shadow onto them. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Charles raising a hand to his forehead to do the same. 

Arriving back to camp, they hitched Taima and Apollonia and went to announce to everybody what they had learned of Mary-Beth. And a feeling of delight settled over the entire camp, reassured now that they knew three of their friends were still alive and well. 

More days passed and they all settled more and more into their new lives. And then somebody they hadn‘t spared a thought for rode back into their camp, shattering the everlasting quiet and calm.

„Hosea,“ the person breathed, quiet and afraid. Maybe ashamed.

Arthur pushed himself off of the tree he was leaning against and stepped out his half burned cigarette. He strode towards the figure in quick steps, each one louder than the other. Anger bubbled up inside of him and he was only stopped by Sadie pressing herself between Arthur and his destination.

She grasped both of his shoulder in a tight grip and said „Look at me,“ and when he didn‘t oblige, his stormy blue eyes directed at somebody standing behind her, she continued with a demanding „Arthur.“ And then he finally met her eyes, and calmed down, if only a tiny amount. „Yeah?“ She asked, and he nodded, and took a few deep breaths, steadying his fastly beating heart. 

And then Hosea stepped up. Staring at Dutch with troubled eyes, his lips parted slightly in disbelief. „Dutch,“ it was barely a whisper. 

Dutch broke forward in big steps, making Hosea flinch back and everybody at camps hands fly to their holsters. But he just pulled Hosea into a lung crushing hug, his arms wrapped around Hoseas back, who was stunned into stiffness, his arms tensely at his side. 

„I‘m so sorry, Hosea,“ he sniffled. Dutch van der Linde was crying, and he was crying against Hoseas shoulder and said „I don‘t know what got into me.“

Although every soul present wanted to intervene, wanted to tell Dutch to crawl back into the hole he had reappeared from, they didn‘t. On the command of Arthur, everybody left the two alone. After Arthur had calmed down from the initial shock and anger and grief, he had realized that this? This was not his time to confront Dutch. It was Hoseas and Hosead alone. Nobody knew except for Arthur how far back the two go and how much they have grown apart over the years and how much that had teared at Hosea. So he gathered everybody and instructed them to leave the two alone to chew through everything.

And they all did. Hosea and Dutch had departed into Hoseas tent, and out of everybodys sight. The last glimpse that Arthur caught was of Dutch wiping his cheeks before he disappeared from the onlookers gaze.

When Dutch left again, he did so placidy. The corners of his lips slightly upturned as he mounted the Count. John found his way over to Arthur, who was sitting against a tree trunk, sketching into his journal leisurely. He sat down next to his lover and peered over his shoulder, inspecting the drawing. „You was drawing the Count?“ Johns hoarse voice called out, to which Arthur replied with a deep murmur. He then closed his journal slowly and stuffed the pencil back into his satchel.

„What he want?“ Arthur asked into the stillness. John reached out to entwine his and Arthurs fingers in Arthurs lap and sighed, the breath making a strand of his hair that had fallen into his face fly upwards. Arthur reached out and turned the others face towards him, tucking the strand behind Johns ear. „I don‘t know. Hosea said something about just catching up.“

A displeased „Ah,“ was Arthurs only reply.

Unwinding his fingers from Johns, he opened the journal lying on his lap back up and fished the pencil back out of his satchel and started a new drawing. This time, he drew the woods across from him, behind the camp. The fire shining a bright light onto them made for a striking image, an image that Arthur wanted to not forget. After lingering on for a few more minutes, just watching the pencil move with Arthurs hand, creating a capturing picture, John decided to leave Arthur to his own devices. He stood up, pushing his body off with a hand on the ground, patted Arthurs shoulder and bowed down to kiss his temple and left for the campfire. 

Just then, Hosea came by and settled in the same spot that John had just been occupying.

He explained everything to Arthur. He explained that Dutch told him he was sorry, that he didn‘t know what had gotten into him, and that he realized his mistakes and wanted to pay for all of the faults he had commited. And even though Arthur felt it hard to believe, he kept his mouth tightly sealed, only listening without speaking. He trusted Hosea, and if Hosea believed Dutch, then Arthur would accept it. Hosea then left again as well, as the darkness of the late evening began settling in, encasing Arthur in a comforting feeling. 

After minutes of long pondering and reminiscing, Arthur decided to drop the case of Dutch. Leaving it to deal with at a later account. As always, he trusted Hosea. Therefore he believed that Dutch had no ill intention and chose not to keep worrying about something not worth worrying about.

Soon afterwards, as the sun had fully settled, and left their camp to solely be lightened up by the burning embers of the fire, Arthut had entirely forgotten about Dutch as he laid on his cot, Johns arm securely wrapped around him as he sighed contently. Hearing Arthur, John pulled him ever closer towards his chest, burying his face in the crook of Arthurs neck and pressing a kiss there. Arthur shifted and turned his face, capturing Johns lips in a slow kiss, before settling back down, his fingers stroking idly along Johns arm on his waist. John mimicked him and laid back down behind him, angling his head so his face was directly behind Arthurs neck, and pressed his forehead against it. Arthur could feel Johns breath on his skin and could feel it evening out as John fell asleep. He smiled to himself before he closed his eyes, willing himself to do the same as his lover, and fell into a deep and relaxed slumber, his dreams filled with hopes for a future yet to come. 

A future where they wouldn‘t have to keep outrunning the law, where they could live on an isolated farm, away from troublr and reminders of their past. The perfect life, Arthur imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright im really happy with how this entire story worked out and on the one hand im really glad that i got it finished but on the other hand im sad that i wont get to write for it anymore. i do feel like i have rushed a lot of things and there is still a lot of improving to be done but im still really proud for producing this thing. 
> 
> i hope you all liked reading it as much as i liked writing it and maybe i will make a bonus chapter surrounding hosea and dutch and their past and future.  
> i will also probably edit most of the chapters and flesh things out a bit more when i got the time!

**Author's Note:**

> so this is my first fic for red dead and this just really came from me refusing to accept arthurs death.  
> if there are any continuity errors or something of the like, please tell me! i sometimes dont notice myself.
> 
> and also, if there is any theme you would love to see me cover in here, leave a comment and i will see what i can do, since im really coming up with this story as i go.
> 
> and as always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!
> 
> and lastly, come talk to me on tumblr! im @oakenshied there!


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